
Class Qy d'iSJl 

Book . P4 



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The 

iaetortal Cljermometer 





^'ixm.n 



iOJ^^^. 



The 

3Rebtbal CJjermometer 



WILLIAM P: PEARCE 

Aiithw of "The Tabemack," "The Lover's Love," "The Matter' 
Gaeatest Monosyllables," "Steppbg Stones to Manhood," etc. 



Introduction by 

A. C. DIXON. D.D. 



^ Saviour^ visit I%y plarUcUion; 

Grant its, Lord, a gracums rain; 
All will come to desolation, 
Unless Tfwu return again. 
Lord revive us; 
AU our help miut come from TJteeJ 




UNITED BRETHREN PUBUSHING HOUSE 
W. R. Funk. Agent DAYTON. OHIO 



^^— Otoe/ 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1905, by the 

UNITED BKETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C. 



To rei?l*.ad .adt v.CijV 
JON « - ««* 



IV) 




H«rrf 



HIGH 



DOES 



THE 



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EjO 



SPIBITTTAL 



MEBCURY 



BI6E 



IN 



TOUR 



CHRISTIAN 



IJirET 



Luke 15 : 7, 10 

John 1 : 45 

Prov. 11 : 30 ^ 
Dan. 12 : 3 $ 

Ezek. 3: 18 

James 5: 20 

Acts 1: 8 

Acts 19: 2 
1. Cor, 9: 16 
Isa. 57; X5 
Mark 1 : 3 
Nehemiah 4: 8 
Psalm 85: 6 
Hab. 3: 2 



J 






And what r 

Joy through a Revival. 

Personal "Work in a Revival. 
Incentives to a Revival. 
Negligence in a Revival. 
Aim of a Revival. 
Power in a Revival. 
Equipment for a Revival. 
Essentials of a Revival. 
Conditions of a Revival. 
Preparation for a Revival. 
Hinderers of a Revival. 
Need of a Revival. 
A Revival, What is it? 



THIS WOKK IS AFFKOTIOXAT»IiT 

SDebtcattn 

TO THK MEMORY OF 

Sell* a* e. C* ^rnit2t 9^*9,* 

l&tti* Jiamtfi ^|)ompf on 

£Dpie iSotitti8F» ®b8nerl{0t 

WHO WERE TO THE AUTHOR 

THE EXEMPIilFICATZON OF GRBATNEBS 

AKD GOODNESS DURING HIS BOYHOOD DAYS. 

As KIPLING WROTE : " THE CAPTAINS AND THE 

KZirbs DEPART," SO THEY HAVE GONE TO THEIR REWARD. 

BUT THE MEMORY HOW SWEET! THEIR INFI.UENCE 

HOW GREAT ! THOUGH DEAD, THEY SPEAK 

THROUGH HIM WHOM THEY HAVE 

BNABIiED TO PREACH THE 

GOSPEIi BY WORD 

JLKD pntf. 



vli 



preface 



THE AUTHOR of this book lays Uttle claim 
to the office of an evangelist, nor has he 
achieved fame as a preacher. But, in the quiet- 
ness of his study, and in the sacredness of his 
pulpit, he has felt the need of a genuine revival, 
until the Holy Spirit constrained him to cry, " O 
Lord, revive Thy work." 

So spasmodic and vacillating are many Chris- 
tians in revival work, that the author uses as an 
object lesson a very common instrument, which 
indicates temperature, to show where they are, and 
how much higher they may climb in grace. It is 
the thermometer. By the aid of mercury on a 
graduated scale, one is able to estimate intensity 
of heat. "A rise of temperature is indicated by a 
rise of the mercury in the tube, owing to expan- 
sion; and, conversely, a fall of temperature is iu- 
dicated by a faU of mercury in the tube." 

How many of God's people resemble the mer- 
cury ? Diu-ing an evangelistic effort their hearts 
are so warmed, that prayer and faith go up to 
God, and zealous efforts are put forth for man. 
Alas, however, with the closing of the meetings, a 
change frequently occurs, iudicated by a coldness 
and indifferentism. To aid such in keeping at the 
proper spiritual temperature is this Revival Theie- 



X REVIVAL THERMOMETER. 

MOMETER written, with the hope and prayer that 
the thoughts may glow, the words bum, until the 
flame of devotion upon the altar of hearts may be 
rekindled, and a genuine revival result. For when 
Zion puts on her strength great things will be 
brought to pass. 

Truly, 



4«ftauL^-^^^ 



Cantent0 



CELkTTWB, PAOX 

I. What is a Revival? .... 17 

II. Need of a Revival. .... 39 

III. Hindereks of a Revival ... 61 

IV. Preparation for a Revival . . 83 
V. Conditions of a Revival . . .103 

VI. Essentials to a Revival . . .125 

VII. Equipment for a Revival . . . 149 

VIII. Power in a Revival . . . .171 

IX. Aim of a Revival 191 

X. Negligence in a Revival . . , 217 

XI. An Incentive to a Revival . . 237 

Xn. Personal Work in a Revival . . 269 

XIII. Joy Through a Revival ... 283 



xi 



JnttoDuction 



IT is an encouraging sign of the times that men 
who are not professional evangeUsts are writ- 
ing books on evangelism. It is the result of 
the evangelistic atmosphere that fills the English- 
speaking world, and it helps to make this atmos- 
phere still more evangelistic. 

There has been a great educational revivaL 
Colleges and imiversities have been established and 
endowed with millions. But there is no conflict 
between true learning and soul-winning fervor. 
Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, with a soul 
on fire with evangelistic zeal, was a man of learn- 
ing. The great Methodist revival began with some 
imiversity students, and the modern missionary 
movement can be traced to the University of Halle. 
Though D. L. Moody was not a college-bred man, 
R. A. Torrey, his successor in evangelism, gradu- 
ated at Yale, and took a special course in a German 
university. 

The education which opposes evangelism is 
based upon a theory of evolution which had its 
origin in Greek philosophy centm*ies before Christ. 
It denies the creation of man in the image of 
God, the fall of man, the incarnation of God in 
Christ, and would stretch the Bible upon the 
Procrustean bed of its own unproved hypothesis. 
It produced a Darwin, who confessed that his 

xiii 



xiT REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

nature had been so atrophied that he had no use 
for poetry, music, or reHgion ; a Spencer, with giant 
intellect and pagan attitude of the Athenians who 
erected an altar to the "Unknown God"; a Hux- 
ley, with brilliant mind and facile pen, who crys- 
talized this Athenian agnosticism into a creed of 
ignorance concerning God; and a Haeckel, who 
did more than any other man in Germany to 
atheize science and destroy the consciousness of a 
personal God. 

The facts of science proclaim a God of wisdom 
and power, and intimate the nature of the fuller 
revelation which we have in the Bible. It is only 
the fancies of unbelieving scientists, which they 
have magnified, first into possibilities, then into 
probabilities, and finally into certainties that have 
unsettled the faith of the academic school of 
thought in the bibhcal record of creation and re- 
demption. 

That maa is a sinner can be proved by the 
Bible, the dictionary, the daily paper, and the 
experience of honest men. That regeneration is a 
sudden experience, giving the consciousness of free- 
dom from the guilt of sin, and imparting to the 
soul an upward gravitation toward God, can be 
proved by the Scriptures and the testimony of 
thousands. It is unscientific to deny facts; and 
facts concerning sin and redemption through Christ 
are as weU established as any fact brought to hght 
in the laboratory. 

The minister who calls men to immediate i*e- 
pentance and faith in Christ, that they may be 
bom again and then grow in grace of character, 
is doing a more scientific work th;m tlie moraHst 
who proclaims salvation by character without the 



INTRODUCTION xv 

new birth, which brings into the soul the life that 
makes possible the building of a new character. 
Only a man of hyper-pharisaical spirit, or with a 
very low standard of morals, will claim that he 
has a perfect character; and, if he is saved by 
character, his salvation is only as perfect as his 
character. If he falls short in character, he of 
course falls short in salvation. Such a creed must 
leave honest people in perpetual doubt as to whether 
they are saved at aU. To be saved by grace 
through Jesus Christ is to rejoice in a salvation 
which is perfect and prophetic of perfect character. 
"It doth not yet appear what we shaU be, but we 
know that when he shall appear we shall be like 
him, for we shall see him as he is." The imputed 
righteousness of Christ, which gives us assurance 
of full salvation, carries with it his imparted right- 
eousness which will be developed and perfected 
in us by the Christ-life of which we become par- 
takers in the new birth. Salvation by character 
through natural processes is to the hinnble, honest 
man, conscious of imperfection, a rehgion of de- 
spair, while salvation by grace which makes char- 
acter is the religion of hope. 

Jesus Christ gives a perfect salvation, which 
produces perfect character, while the mere moralist 
claims a character which demands salvation upon 
the ground of its worthiness. The minister, with 
his glad tidings of salvation through Christ, has 
a message even for an audience of convicts, while 
the moraUst, with his salvation by character, would 
only mock the distress and despair of men who 
know that their characters do not even commend 
them to imperfect men, much less to an infinitely 
holy God. 



xri REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

We rejoice that The Revival Thermometer 
reveals the fact that any church may be instru- 
mental in bringing about a revival. It emphasizes 
man's need and God's power to save, while it holds 
out to aU who will accept salvation through Jesus 
Christ the hope of growth into the image of Him 
who is ** altogether lovely." 



Cl)e laettbal Cljermometer 



CHAPTER I. 

miat 30 a laebtbal? 

The more important the subject, the more 
careful investigation does it require. If 
"eloquent orators do not discuss petty 
themes," thinking Christians need consider 
the most essential. The great majority of 
things relate to time ; the few and more mo- 
mentous, to eternity. Nineteen centuries of 
the Christian era have passed and notable 
characters have uttered great truths, penned 
great proclamations, and contrived great 
inventions. Heirs are we indeed to the 
achievements of centuries. Steam and elec- 
tricity obey our will, telegraph and tele- 
phone bring our distant friends within 
speaking nearness, and civilization with its 
science, literature, religious toleration and 
philanthropy have made us princes of the 
ages. Life also, according to Whittier : 
a 17 



THE REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

"... Shall on and upward go : 
Th' eternal step of progress beats 
To that great anthem, calm and low. 
Which God repeats." 

A look backward, however, is necessary to 
a look forward. Some people have no per- 
spective. Like Thoreau when pressing his 
forehead to the window-pane during his last 
illness, they can say : "I can see nothing on 
the outside.'' The couplets which are the 
"signs of the times,''^ binding the past to 
the present and the present to the future, 
are deliberately overlooked. Their life is 
vacancy. They cannot say, 

"Shines the last age, the next with hope is seen ; 
To-day slinks poorly off, unmarked, between ; 
Future or Past no richer secret folds, 
O friendless Present, than thy bosom holds." 

Religiously, the present may be said to be 
the apex of the ages. Never were there more 
churches, ministers. Bibles, charity organ- 
izations and elaborate machinery with the 
means to run them. Yet a "bird's-eye view" 
at the present state of affairs in and out of 
the church compels us to go back six cen- 
turies before Christ, and, with an almost 

» Matt. 16:3. 

18 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

unknown, humble prophet, cognizant and 
burdened because of the indifference, way- 
wardness and ungodliness of the people, bow 
in earnest petition for a revival. 

If no architect can be named greater than 
he who wrought the Parthenon, no sculptor 
than he who chiseled "David," no artist 
than he who painted "Christ before Pilate," 
no musician than he who classified the har- 
monies of the "Hallelujah Chorus," few can 
be named from the Old-Testament worthies 
equal to Habakkuk, who wanted God re- 
incarnated into the lives of His people. If 
Phidias, looking over the years, saw the 
diviner man for whom he sought in the 
marble, and a soul-healer mightier than his 
Esculapius, then Habakkuk, with clearer 
vision, saw how this was to be accomplished. 
If Plato was stirred by thoughts that drifted 
down from Paradise, Habakkuk was moved 
by the voice of God when he said, "O Lord, 
I have heard thy speech and was afraid."^ 
If Albert Midlane could write and James 
McGranahan could set to music these 
words : 

»Hab.3:2. 

19 



THE REVIVAL THEEMOMETER 

"Revive Thy work, O Lord ! 
Tliy mighty arm make bare ; 
Speak with the voice that wakes the dead. 
And make Thy people hear," 

then to Habakkuk belongs the credit of this 
original prayer, which needs be offered now 
by the people of God, 

"O Lord, Revive Thy Work/'^ 
A revival I What is it? The word is 
somewhat a comparative and commonplace 
term. In recent years it has lost its charm, 
and with many has become odious, but few 
are the words more significant, as it deals 
with the spiritual quickening of a Christian. 
Not infrequently is it misleading. It has 
been made to associate with various types 
of religious meetings, until it has become 
a byword, a synonym of excitement, extraor- 
dinary religious activity attended by a 
profession of conversion and a uniting with 
some church. 

A revival, in ordinary language, means 
the return, or recovery, from a state of lan- 
guor to a state of activity — as a revival in 
business, letters, or art. In the religious 

»Hab. 3:2. 

20 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

sense, it means the quickening and strength- 
ening of spiritual life already possessed. It 
is not, and must not be confounded with re- 
generation. Chayah means to live, to keep 
alive. Sinners are mentioned as being 
"dead in trespasses and sins.''^ Not dying, 
but dead. "Alienated,'' as Paul said, "from 
the life of God through the ignorance that is 
in them, because of the blindness of their 
heart,"^ — totally devoid of spiritual life. 
Now, where no life is, there can be no reviv- 
ing. To revive supposes a previous state of 
existence. Regeneration is altogether dif- 
ferent. By such Christ quickens, or makes 
alive. The Latin word regenero (re, again, 
and genero, to generate,) means "to cause 
to be born again." That is what Jesus 
meant when He told Nicodemus he must be 
"born again.''^ After this birth, in case of 
spiritual declension, it would not be rebirth, 
but revive (re, again; vivo, to live) : a new 
manifestation of life, as in the case of the 
wilted plant when refreshed by water, and 
the unconscious individual when aroused 
from the benumbed sensibilities which were 

»Eph. 2:1. 2Eph. 4:18. 'John 3:7. 
21 



THE REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

caused by freezing, or in resuscitation from 
drowning. 

Some years ago an article appeared in 
the Chicago Tribune relating how Doctor 
Tuffier, in the Hospital de la Pitie, Paris, 
manipulated the heart of Jean Soulle, a 
young artist who had just died of appendi- 
citis, and made him live. In the presence 
of his assistant and pupils, the doctor cut 
open the man's side, and pressed the heart 
with his fingers. The blood circulated, and 
the artist began to breathe. He opened his 
eyes, looked around, and talked. Then the 
doctor removed his fingers, and in three 
minutes the young man was dead again. 
The experiment was repeated, and the artist 
lived for two hours, but the physician de- 
clared: "I did not keep Soulle alive per- 
manently, because I had not the delicate 
mechanical contrivance necessary with 
which to work constantly upon his heart, 
driving the blood to the body. I restored 
life temporarily with my hand, but I could 
not keep this up long enough to maTie his 
recovery permanent. So I had to let him 



22 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

die." Die? Was Soulle really dead before 
the doctor manipulated his heart? Nay; 
there may have been all the evidences of 
death known to medical men, but as with 
those resuscitated from drowning, there re- 
mained some spark of life, and by skillful 
scientific treatment that life was reinvig- 
orated and vitality given to the heart's 
blood. Only believers in Christ can be re- 
vived, receiving therefrom new strength to 
the spiritual sinews and new elasticity in 
the performance of duty. 

A revival is a means to an end — the awak- 
ening, revivifying, and reinvigorating of the 
Christian, the ultimate aim of which is the 
conversion of sinners. It is bringing the 
church to its normal condition. Some think 
revivals abnormal seasons of excitement. 
The abnormal condition of a church is when 
it needs reviving; and no religious interest 
which does not bring men into fellowship 
with God and move them to help their fel- 
low-men can be called a revival. Jesus 
Christ does not save men to keep them from 
going to hell, or to conduct them to heaven, 



23 



THE REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

but to "do his will.''^ The spirit of Chris- 
tianity is essentially the spirit of propaga- 
tion — "go''; the spirit of expansion — "into 
all the world'' ;^ the spirit of information 
and enlightenment — "teach," that such may 
"believe on the Lord Jesus Christ"^ and be 
saved. 

Wendell Phillips used to deliver a bril- 
liant lecture on "The Lost Arts of Ancient 
Egypt." It is sometimes a question if the 
revival is not a lost art in the majority of 
churches, and among the majority of min- 
isters. A false estimate is placed upon it. 
Stress is laid on attractive services, unique 
subjects, stirring appeals that the member- 
ship of the church might be reinforced. 
There must, however, be a restoration of the 
Christian and the church-member to "the 
joy of Christ's salvation,"^ which is always 
characterized with an unusual, holy inten- 
sity "to seek and to save that which is lost." 
A revived Christianity in the lives of believ- 
ers is the need of the hour, and with such 
there will be a greater desire to know more 



» John 7:17. 'Matt. 28:19: Mark 16:15. » Acts 16:31. •Ps. 
51:12./ 

24 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

of God, to love His Word, seek His pres- 
ence, and do His will. 

Revivals are characteristic history of 
the Bible from the days of Moses to the 
forerunner of Christ. "As by a series of 
ascents our planet reached the elevation 
which evoked the angePs song, so each cycle 
of our race has left it in a higher orbit.'' 
The first evangelistic effort under the radi- 
ance of the cross was begun in Jerusalem, 
when the disciples "were all with one accord 
in one place."^ Dr. Josiah Strong, in "The 
Next Great Awakening," says that great re- 
vivals "came in connection with the preach- 
ing of a neglected scriptural truth which 
was precisely adapted to the needs of the 
times." It was a crucified, resurrected Christ 
preached by Peter in the Pentecostal re- 
vival. "The Eucharist for the People," by 
Huss, in the Bohemian; "Justification by 
Faith," by Luther, in the German; "Per- 
sonal Righteousness," by Owen, which cre- 
ated the Puritan movement, "the English 
counterpart of the German Reformation"; 
"The Witness of the Spirit," by Wesley, in 

» Acts 2:1. 

25 



THE REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

the English; "The Sovereignty of God," 
with its terrors, by Edwards; "Man's Free 
Agency," and guilt, by Finney; "The Love 
of God," by Moody, in the American; and, 
for the world in the future, the coming of 
Christ "to judge the quick and the dead."^ 
This without a doubt is the all-pervading, 
and must be the all-absorbing topic to 
arouse the church. Oh, that she believed it I 
What a watching, praying, working there 
would be? In fact, how can we disbelieve 
it? More than three hundred distinct refer- 
ences in the New Testament alone tell of 
His coming. "Divide your New Testament," 
says G. Campbell Morgan, "into verses, and 
one in twenty-five has to do with that bless- 
ed hope of the church." "Behold, I come 
quickly,"^ says Jesus four times in the Rev- 
elation, "and my reward is with me, to give 
every man according as his work shall be." 
Let this truth be preached and emphasized 
with the "Amen, come Lord Jesus,"^ and 
what a reformation will follow! What a 
change in living if Jesus is expected ! What 
rectifications of wrong committed! What 

»lI.Tim.4:l. »Rev. 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20. =» Rev. 22:20. 
26 



WHAT IS A KEVIVAL 

confessions of sin I What a higher estimate 
of church worship! What a pleading with 
sinners to come to Christ ere He comes in 
personal wrath to them ! Yea, w^hat a revi- 
val there will be ! Oh, my reader, if we can 
but grasp this glorious truth, we shall find 

"We are living, we are dwelling, 
In a grand and awful time, — 
In an age on ages telling, 
To be living is sublime." 

A Petition. 
"O Lord, revive !'' One of the most direct 
and potent influences, if not the one, in se- 
curing a revival is a proper petition for the 
same. Prayer is the starting-point of a re- 
vival, and praise the goal. "Prayer," said 
Finney, "is an essential link in the chain of 
causes that lead to a revival." "A revival," 
said Doctor Kirk, "without accompanying 
prayer, is an impossibility, and, without 
antecedent prayer, has probably never oc- 
curred." Like David, we must resolutely 
"give ourselves unto prayer,"^ if, like Hab- 
akkuk, we would have a revival. Measuring 

»Ps. 109:4. 

27 



THE EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

the forces of evil that abound, some one has 
suggested prayer for a Puritan revival, 

"... Eor on© hour of that undaunted stock 
That went with Vane and Sydney to the block ; 
Oh, for a whiff of Naseby, that would sweep 
With its stern Puritan besom all this chaff 
From the Lord's threshing floor." 

What we want, however, and what we 
need, is not a Puritan or a Reformation re- 
vival, but a God-given one to meet the 
peculiar exigencies of the hour. The church 
slumbers, her spiritual power deteriorates, 
worldliness is on the increase, a nominal 
rather than a practical religion is in the 
ascendancy; ministers are considered hire- 
lings, and a spirit of unrest characterizes 
many pastors and churches. The pew- 
abounds with "itching ears,"^ and the pulpit 
devises cunning "fables."^ No wonder Isaac 
Watts described our state, 

"In vain we tune our formal songs. 
In vain we strive to rise ; 
Hosannas languish on our tongues. 
And our devotion dies." 

To have the right kind of a revival, God 
must be counseled and implored. Prayer is 

>II. Tim. 4:3. » II. Pet. 1: 16. 
28 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

the right arm of evangelism, and disappoint- 
ments never come to him who has the *'«(/o- 
iiisticaV spirit. When, like the Master in 
Gethsemane, we are ^4n an agony"^ we will 
pray "the more earnestly'^; and such pray- 
ing, as Doctor Kerfoot used to tell his class 
in Louisville Seminary, "somehow gets hold 
of God." It is, "Ask, and it shall be given 
you."^ 

The significance of Habakkuk's prayer is 
in its acknowledgment that a revival is 
God's work. "Ravive tliy work." God has 
many works, but only one work. This uni- 
verse, with its vast machinery of revolving 
planets, would seem enough to absorb His 
whole attention. The heavens with their 
brilliant tapers, the seas with unmeasured 
waters, the mountains with unweighed 
rocks, the trees with unnumbered -fruits, the 
creatures seen and unseen, known and un- 
known, are t\iQ^ works of God, "and in wis- 
dom has he made them all."'^ Yet He has 
but one work — a work which He planned for 
ages; a work which He sent His Son to ex- 
ecute, and the Holy Spirit to promote; a 

> Luke 22: 44. 'Matt. 7:7. sPs. 104:24. 
29 



THE REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

work which all must perceive, like the en- 
emies of Nehemiah, when building the wall 
of Jerusalem, that it is ^'wrought of our 
God''^ — the work of developing the piety of 
believers that sinners might be brought to 
repentance. 

The beauty of this prayer is in its indi- 
viduality. In this day of multiplied organ- 
izations, with everything from a mechanical 
standpoint to bring about success, it is de- 
lightful to know that "the effectual, fervent 
prayer of a righteous man availeth much."^ 
God has, and can, and will be moved to bless 
a whole church and community by the 
prayers of one person who walks with God. 
One ! Think of it, — the potentiality of one ! 
God told Abraham He would spare Sodom 
if He could find "fifty righteous within the 
city,''^ then "for forty's sake," then "for 
twenty's sake," then "for ten's sake." What 
if Abraham had asked for one? Revivals 
begin in the individual heart. There must 
be an awakening in men, before among men. 
Church life depends on individual life. 

In Northampton, Massachusetts, is a 

»Neh. 6:16. a James 5: 16. ^ Gen. 18:26,29,31,32. 
30 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

monumental slab on which is written : ^^Sa- 
cred to the memory- of David Brainerd, the 
faithful and devoted missionary to the Sus- 
quehanna, Delaware, and Stoekbridge In- 
dians of America, who died in this town 
aged 32 years, October 8th, 1847." Dead, 
but influence not dead. Of him it is said, his 
greatest work was wrought out in prayer. 
In the depths of the forest, when unable to 
speak the language of the Indians, he would 
spend whole days in supplication to God to 
open the way whereby he might reach the 
savages. He would pray, to use his own 
words, "till my whole body was wet with 
sweat, though I was in the shade and the 
wind was cool.'' On one occasion he preach- 
ed to them through an interpreter who was 
so intoxicated that he could scarcely stand. 
God honored the word, and scores were con- 
verted. Dr. A. J. Gordon, speaking of this 
man, said: "William Carey read his life, 
and by its impulse went to India. Payson 
read it as a young man over twenty years, 
and he said he had never been so impressed 
by anything in his life as by the story. 



3( 



THE KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Murray McCheyne read it, and was power- 
fully impressed by it. Jonathan Edwards, 
who watched over him all those months 
while he was slowly dying of consumption, 
said : 'I praise God that it was in His prov- 
idence that he should die in my house, that 
I might hear his prayers, that I might wit- 
ness his consecration, and that I might be 
inspired by his great example.' When Jon- 
athan Edwards wrote that great appeal to 
Christendom to unite in prayer for the con- 
version of the world, which has been the 
trumpet-call of modern missions, undoubt- 
edly it was inspired by this dying man." 

The prayer of one I It was Elijah's prayer 
that preceded the reformation of the nation ; 
as Luther's, of a later day. The revival in 
Nineveh started through a praying Jonah, 
as the English did through Wesley, and the 
Scotch through Knox. John Livingstone 
besought God in a field the night before he 
preached in the Kirk of Shotts, when hun- 
dreds were converted. ^lany years ago a 
revival started in New York State, in which 
many were converted. The inquiry was, 



S2 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

^^Who is praying?'' It was learned that two 
aged church-members, who lived a mile 
apart, had made arrangements to meet half- 
way between them, in a thicket, every even- 
ing at sundown, to pray God to revive His 
work. Mr. Finney, in his "Lectures on Re- 
vivals,'' tells of a poor consumptive, who 
was unable to do anything but pray. Yet 
his intercessions were answered in the 
conversion of souls, communities, and even 
distant fields yielded to the missionaries' 
labors. Revivals sprang up as if spontane- 
ously and unaccountably; but after his 
death his diary revealed the secret cause. 
Daily he set apart certain hours for certain 
ministers, churches, committees, and mis- 
sion stations. Often in these pages would 
be found such an entry as this : "To-day I 
have been enabled to offer what I believe to 
be the prayer of faith for the outpouring of 

Ihe Spirit on , and I trust in God that 

there will soon be a revival there." And re- 
vivals came. 

Prayer ! God help us to pray. Let others 
refuse or neglect, but let us pray. If one 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Elijah could pray the heavens shut, and 
then pray them open so that rain fell on the 
parched soil ; if Martin Luther prayed alone 
while the Council of Nuremburg was in ses- 
sion, and, having the witness of answer, rose 
and cried : "It is accomplished, the church 
is free ! Victory, victory !'' if the missionary 
revival of the nineteenth century, according 
to Gordon, was "due to the prayer and con- 
secration of Brainerd"; if John Bradford 
could say, "When I know what I want, I 
plead with God until I feel He has heard me, 
and until I know that God and I have had 
dealings with one another upon it," we, hj 
pleading Jacob-like and gazing Stephen-like 
into heaven, can prevail in the interest of a 
revival. Then let us resolve 

"... In life's glad morning. 
In its bright noonday, 
In the shadowy evening, 
Ever will I pray." 

"Thy Work''— Where? 
Prayer for a revival must be mare than 
general. To reach the circumference, one 
must begin at the center. "Revive Thy 



34 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

work'^ in my heart. If it finds no origin 
here, no word of criticism need be raised if 
not seen in the local church. We often flog 
her, as Spurgeon said, like a colossal cul- 
prit, "when the whip should be laid on our 
own shoulders." To move God is to have 
the soul of the petitioner moved. He who 
would mount the scala sancta that leads to 
true manhood, must do it on bended knee. 
When Professor Morse, the inventor of the 
electric telegraph, was asked if he ever came 
to a point not knowing what to do, he 
answered, "Oh, yes ; more than once.'^ "And 
at such times, what did you do next?" was 
asked. "I may answer you. in confidence," 
he replied, "but it is a matter of which the 
public knows nothing. Whenever I could 
not see my way clearly, I prayed for more 
light, and it came." For God to revive His 
work, there are many things in the individ- 
ual life which must be changed or removed, 
and it is only through "more light" by 
prayer we can be brought into that confor- 
mity with God whereby His Spirit can re- 
vive us. 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Prayer need be offered for God's reviving 
work in the hearts of others. James enjoins 
us to "pray one for another."^ If we are 
revived it is impossible to exist without re- 
questing God to revive others. If we do not, 
it reveals a lack of earnest thought and in- 
terest concerning their welfare. Doctor 
Berridge, of Puritan fame, had a frail body, 
but a great interest in others. During his 
ministry he saw, in one year, over two thou- 
sand brought into the kingdom of God. 
Said he, "Much reading makes a popular 
preacher, but much secret prayer makes a 
powerful preacher." In fact, is it not sinful 
to neglect this duty? Would that parents, 
relatives, neighbors, and Christians would 
feel, like aged Samuel : "God forbid that I 
should sin against the Lord in ceasing to 
pray for you."^ For we could not 

"... A gift so dear impart 
As the earnest benediction of a deeply prayerful 
heart." 

Prayer need be offered fo7' the church. 
Assailed without, indifferent, and frequent- 
ly divided within, we need "pray for the 

» James 5: 16. 'I. Sam. 12:23. 



WHAT IS A REVIVAL 

peace of Jerusalem,"^ that ^^tliey may be 
made perfect in one."^ Oh, that all of us 
had that spirit that controlled John Welsh, 
who used to pray whole nights for saints 
and sinners. At home he always kept near 
his bed a cloak which he was accustomed to 
throw over his shoulders as he rose in the 
night to pray. His wife on one occasion 
expostulated with him, to which he replied, 
"Ah, woman, woman, you know not what it 
is to have the burden of three thousand 
souls for whom you must give an account.'' 
And too many of us lack that burden and 
interest of our fellow-members who are so 
indifferent to their "high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus. "^ Let us cultivate that feel- 
ing of the poet v^^ho said : 

"Eor her my tears shall fall, 
For her my prayers ascend ; 
To her my cares and toils be given, 
Till toils and cares shall end." 

Prayer need be offered for the whole 
world. If "God so loved the world"^ as to 
send Jesus to die for all who are in it, we 
need that attitude of soul which will make 

iPs. 122:6. 'John 17:23. = Phil. 3:14. "John 3: 16. 
37 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

the last great command of Christ felt every- 
where; an attitude pleading with God 
before pleading for Him. 

Oh, the power of prayer ! What light 
electricity will give when we touch the but- 
ton! What voices we hear and what mes- 
sages we send when we take down the 
receiver! How rapidly we travel when the 
handle is turned to the motor. But prayer, 
blessed prayer! How it will take hold of 
us when we take hold of God ! How it will 
impart new light, utter new messages, and 
give impulses to new efforts! How myste- 
riously it will affect others, causing the Di- 
vine Artist to dip His brush in the fadeless 
tints of immortality and transfer them to 
characters the world over! Prayer, — it 
revives ! Then 

"... Let Thy chosen few 
Awake to earnest prayer, 
Their covenant again renew, 
And walk in filial fear. 

"O Lord, Thy work revive 
In Zion's gloomy hour, 
And let our dying graces live 
By Thy restoring power." 



.^e 



KEED 



CHAPTER 11. 

It is an established fact that revivals 
have characterized the church from its or- 
ganization. Her greatest advancement has 
been made in times of revival. The Refor- 
mation, missionary enterprises, Young Peo- 
ple's societies sprang from it, and, without 
an exception, have been a local, national, 
and international blessing. As there are 
lulls, however, in every storm, and depres- 
sions in every business, so there are times 
when there is a subsidence of revival spirit 
and interest. In a measure this is doubtless 
beneficial and advantageous. Just as an 
army must have time to rest and repair their 
uniforms and weapons, so the church needs 
to "wait upon God,"^ drill the recruits, and 
instruct the converts. To let this rest run 
into negligence and indifference is to court 
disaster. The relaxed hours that follow a 

1 Isa. 40: 31. 

39 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

great victory are the most perilous. This is 
a sad commentary on many of the so-called 
modern revivals. 

*'The most idle waste of breath," said 
Theodore L. Cuyler, ^4s to predict revivals.'* 
Even to ''get up'' one is unbiblical and 
wrong. Such is like the application of a gal- 
vanic current to a dead body, which pro- 
duces muscular movement, but lacks life. 
Living, as we are, in the most aggressive age 
of civilization, with unrivaled luxury, en- 
lightened and aristocratic society, the 
church is proud, loose in habit, liberal in 
theory, eager for innovations, and boastful 
as the Laodiceans: ^'I am rich and in- 
creased with goods and have need of noth- 
ing."^ But a glance at it from the God-side 
shows that she is "wretched, and miserable, 
and poor, and blind, and naked." 

To cry out against the present state of 
affairs is to be branded pessimistic, yet such 
is wholesome if it makes us more watchful 
and careful. Some will say with the great 
preacher : "Say not, What is the cause that 
the former days were better than these?"- 

* Rev. 3:17. 'Eccl. 7:10. 

40 



NEED 

for in many respects tiiey were not. Civili- 
zation tlirougli the cross of Christ has ad- 
vanced; slavery has been made a national 
crime ; dueling has been condemned by mon- 
archs; temperance, literary, benevolent and 
religous societies have been organized 
everywhere; numerous agencies for minis- 
tering to humanity's needs in such a liberal 
and effective manner were never before 
known. As the scarlet thread runs through 
the cordage of the British navy, so with 
Tennyson, 

"I doubt not through the ages 
One eternal purpose runs. 
And the thoughts of men are wid'ning 
With the setting of the sun." 

Yet it is a fact that the crimes duly chron- 
icled are appalling; iniquity stalks through 
the land, piety is at a low ebb, religious de- 
clension widespread, churches apathetic, 
and pulpits impotent by getting too eccle- 
siastic or by becoming abettors to musical 
or literary performances. Hence, the en- 
thusiasm for Christ's cross seems to be fad- 
ing, "the light of hope and triumph is dying 
from the brow of faith," because a w^orldly- 

41 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

minded pew demands essays to soothe in- 
stead of to "reprove," so that, with David, 
we need to pray : 

^ Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again : That 
Thy People May Rejoice in Thee?"^ 

Do we need a revival? Assertions are 
useless without reasons. If a revival is 
needed, on what grounds? Figures and 
facts sometimes seem dry, but it might be 
well to examine them at least as carefully 
as a physician diagnoses a patient^s case. 
Said Dr. John Watson, of Liverpool : "No 
serious person, whether he be religious or 
non-religious, can look out upon society in 
our day without being depressed and 
alarmed. There is a general unsettlement, 
both of belief and of institutions, a weari- 
ness of the present and an uncertainty of 
the future, a lowering of ideals and a slack- 
ening of energy — an exhausted atmosphere 
in which it is difficult to breathe and which 
is ai3t to be charged with noxious germs." 

Give a glance at the home. Sweet is the 
word, but how general the unwholesome in- 

» Ps. 8b: b 

4Sf 



NEED 

fluence. It ought, as designed, be the nur- 
sery of virtue, the school of high ideals, and 
the seminary of religion. About it entwines 
the family, and upon the family depends the 
civilization, evangelization, and religion of 
the nation. The home is, or should be, a 
sacred place. As some one has remarked, 
"Happiness v»^as never found from home or 
without home." But is it not a source of 
regret that many homes in every community 
are anything but happy? How can they be 
without Christ? How few family altars! 
Religious interests willfully banished ! The 
Bible relegated to a dusty corner for the 
daily newspaper or novel ! Children raised 
in selfishness; their education and dress 
carefully considered, but their religious wel- 
fare persistently neglected! The house of 
God below par with the place of amusement, 
the decadence of home life, the increase of 
domestic infelicity with sixty divorces to 
every thousand marriages! And only a 
small minority of Joshuas with homes gar- 
risoned by devout religious principles : "As 
for me and mv house we will serve the 



43 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETEII 

Lord."^ Think ye, readers, Ave need a revi- 
val for the sake of the home? 

Give a glance at the nation, for the nation 
is simply a magnified home. The habits, 
principles, and maxims of the home govern 
public life. The United States is among 
the largest and richest nations of the world, 
but, as Joseph Cook said, ^^Bigness is not 
greatness," and greatness is not always 
goodness. Let silver-tongued orators tell of 
our national public-school system, freedom 
of speech, religious liberties, the agitation of 
reforms, international fraternity, and pub- 
lic asylums, but, in the words of Bishop 
Butler a century and a half ago, "The dis- 
tinction of our age is an avowed scorn of re- 
ligion on the part of the nobility, and a 
growing disregard for it on the part of the 
generality." The Lord's Day is openly dis- 
regarded and desecrated. Not a few stores 
engage in business. Excursions are run the 
whole summer by railway companies. News- 
papers are made more attractive, and every- 
where in our cities the cry of the newsboy 
breaks the tranquillity of the day. Games 

1 Josh. 24:15. 

44 



NEED 

of all kinds are played, places of amuse- 
ment opened, thus challenging that which 
^'exalteth a nation,"^ and embracing that 
which ^'is a reproach to any people." 

Oh, the skepticism under the mask of so- 
called Christian religion! Old foes with 
ncAv faces, denying a personal God, an incar- 
nate Christ, a Savior from sin. There is 
wickedness "in high places,''^ the lack of law 
enforcement, municipal corruption, domi- 
nance of the liquor trafi&c, intellectual and 
physical dissipation, corporate and individ- 
ual greed for that piece of money which, 
bears a falsehood on its face, — "In God we 
trust." The octopus of Utah w^hich defies the 
Government, seeks to establish an empire 
of its own, sends missionaries everywhere 
to entrap the unwary, and incorporates 
I)lurality of wives in its doctrines — a harem 
church — is a dark blot on American civiliza- 
tion; and a score of other things which 
make us ask, "Do we need a revival of pure 
religion for the nation?'' These things 
make us almost believe 



»Prov. 14:34. = I- ph. 6: 12. 

45 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

"Plain living and high thinking are no more; 
The homely beauty of the good old cause 
Is gone ; our peace, our fearful innocence 

And pure religion breathing household laws." 

Give a glance at the church, for upon this 
the family and nation largely depend. Ac- 
cording to Doctor Cuyler, the city attend- 
ance at church is smaller than fifty years 
ago. One-half of the people of the United 
States fail to attend church. Too many of 
us ministers grieve because few families at- 
tend in a body, and evening congregations 
are hard to secure. All denominations are 
concerned over the small number of addi- 
tions. In fact, from statistics, according to 
the ratio, some of the stronger denomina- 
tions of the day are receiving fewer members 
than fifty years ago. Ten millions of men 
are not in the church, while in New York 
alone only three per cent, of the male pop- 
ulation are said to be connected with Prot- 
estant churches. With an increased intelli- 
gence in pulpit and pew there is a decreased 
knowledge of the doctrines and government 
of the church. The children and con- 
verts are not catechised, except in a few 



46 



NEED 

of the ritualistic churches, and consequently 
the great majority cannot tell what are the 
tenets, and why they belong to this or the 
other church. One must also recognize 
the perilous indifference in the church, and 
the small attendance at the mid-week serv- 
ice. True, she was never more active, but it 
is that activity which makes the soul grow 
thin, and, as Dean Vaughan said, ^'Is the 
grave of spiritual life.'' An activity in so- 
cials, fairs, bazaars, entertainments, sup- 
pers, and clap-trap methods of making 
money, but an inactivity to surround the 
throne of grace collectively and seek the 
salvation of their friends. Said Mr. Finney, 
"There is so little principle in the church, so 
little firmness and stability of purpose, that 
unless the religious feelings are awakened 
and kept excited, counter worldly feeling 
and excitement will prevail, and men will 
not obey God." Serious the charge in days 
gone by, but is it not true as when Henry 
Drummond a few years ago said, "The 
church is paralyzed?" Like Samson in the 
lap of Delilah, she seems paralyzed in the 



47 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

presence of the world-powers of evil, while 
spiritual-minded members bemoan their in- 
ability to cope with them. 

To call attention to the worldliness in the 
church is to add another stain to her reputa- 
tion. One must be blind that cannot see it. 
Shimei threw stones and dust at David, but 
there are m.any who, like the accusers of 
Christ in the Prsetorium, are heaping igno- 
miny upon Him by their unwarranted 
actions. At the card-table, in the dance- 
hall, the theater, the social gathering, the 
talk and action of so many church-members 
are anything but a recommendation for the 
meek and ioY/ly Christ. It is because of this 
that there is such a fearful apathy in the 
church. Like Sardis, she has a name to live, 
but from the standpoint of activity she is 
dead. 

Some years ago in the Arctic regions a 
vessel was found with its crew frozen into 
statues of ice. The helmsman was at his 
post with hand on the helm ; the captain was 
at his log-book, with pen in his fingers, with 
which he had written the words, "For a 



48 



NEED 

T\'liole (lay the stew^ard lias been tryicg to 
kindle the last fire." Below, the form of the 
steward was found, with flint and tinder in 
his hands, while on deck was the Avatcliman, 
his frozen ej^es fixed with the glare of de- 
spair. They had the form and attitude of 
living men, but alas! they were like many 
who have "a form of godliness, but denying 
the power thereof."^ Their religion, as the 
sainted Guthrie said of a certain man, "just 
the size of his coffin — exactly large enough 
for himself, but no larger." Saved, but with 
no desire to save others. Oh, child of God, 
with this condition of things at home, with 
three-fourths of the human race out of the 
church, and one hundred thousand heathen 
passing away every day, do you think we 
need a revival? Indeed, can the prayer of 
David ever be fulfilled, "Let the whole earth 
be filled with his glory,"^ unless there is a 
world-wide reformation in the church ? 

The Revival We Need. 
A revival is needed, but what kind? Is it 
a material, intellectual, moral, or a reviving 

>II. Tim. 3:5. ^Ps. 72:19. 
4 40 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

of Christians to a living, vital faith in Jesus 
Christ? We need a revival which begins 
with interrogation points : Am I right with 
God? Am I using my talents for God? Am 
I interested in others becoming like God? 
A personal revival is essential to the revival 
of others. It is "revive us." There must be 
personal seriousness before enthusiasm, a 
cry of "O wretched man that I am !"^ "Cre- 
ate in me a clean heart, O God,"^ before, 
"Here am I, send me."^ Pain must precede 
peace. The first token of a revived life in a 
frozen or paralyzed person is intense pain. 
In a Christian it produces a consciousness 
of the evil effects of sin, accompanied with a 
deep sorrow because of such. Jonathan Ed- 
wards tells us preceding what is known as 
"The Great Awakening," that on one of his 
journeys he dismounted from his horse and 
went into the woods to pray, and there he 
had the most soul-melting disclosures of the 
grace of God in Jesus Christ, and of his own 
personal unworthiness. 

We need a revival that begins in the 
Christian home, reerecting the family altar, 

'Rom. 7:24. aPs. 51:10. ^Isa. 6:8. 
50 



NEED 

and recreating that religious atmosphere 
which is the oxygen to a healthful Christian 
life. A revival that will evince itself by the 
talk, walk, and dealings with others, which 
rises above a pious pretense, abstains "from 
all appearance of evil,"^ and seeks the 
salvation of others. A revival which, as 
Doctor Cuyler once said, "keeps God's com- 
mandments ; which tells the truth and sticks 
to its promises ; which cares more for a good 
character than a fine coat; which votes at 
the ballot-box in the same direction that it 
prays; which denies ungodly lusts; and 
which can be trusted in every stress of temp- 
tation. A revival which will sweeten our 
homes and chasten our press and purify 
our politics and cleanse our business and 
commerce from roguery and rottenness.'' A 
revival which will deplore sin, condemn pro- 
fanity and the profanation of the Sabbath. 
A revival which will sneer at higher criti- 
cism and accept, study, and teach the truths 
of the Bible as authentic. A revival which 
will lead back to the "ancient landmarks,"^ 
an inspired Word, the need of the Holy 

» I. These. 5 : 22. ' Pro v. 22 : 28. 
51 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Spirit, faith in Christ as a Savior from sin, 
and that He "will render to every man ac- 
cording to his deeds.''^ A revival that will 
lead us into the "old paths''^ of secret 
Ijrayer, personal and family piety, regular 
and reverent worship in the house of God, 
doing good to all around us, bearing "one 
another^s burdens,'^ thus fulfilling "the lavr 
of Christ."^ 

Such a revival as this would be practical, 
revolutionizing, and transforming. It would 
make homes centers of spiritual impulses 
and consecrated lives. Religion would be 
the important and absorbing topic and all 
interests would be governed by its princi- 
ples. It would check social gaiety and 
bring about a redemption of time and means 
for good. It would probe public conscience 
and demand not in vain a cessation of many 
evils. It would make business men more 
truthful and transactions more honest, min- 
isters more fervent, members more lo^^al, 
prayers more intense, personal efforts more 
effective, sinners more fearful, scoffers more 
reticent, the haughty more humble, converts 

» Rom. 2:6. 'Jer. 6:16. ^ Gal. 6:2. 



NEED 

more thorough, and the whole church in 
reality an ecclesia, a "called-out" body, 
with the Pentecostal result that many would 
be "added to them day by day those that 
were being saved. "^ 

The Reason for a Eevival. 
"That thy people may rejoice in thee." A 
low religious life and a joyous one is incom- 
patible. To realize feeling there must of ne- 
cessity be a sudden change. Stand under a 
shower-bath with the water at blood-heat, 
and one can gradually raise or lower the 
temperature of the water without any re- 
markable feeling, but instantly raise or 
lower the temperature twenty degrees, and 
one exhibits a strong emotion. Put a frog 
in warm water and it readily jumps, but 
from psychological experiments a frog can 
be boiled to death without a movement, if 
the water is heated slowly enough. There is 
no change sudden enough to awaken action. 
A sudden impulse for good carried into ac- 
tion always produces joyfulness and a re- 
vival that stirs, excites and arouses is neces- 

'Acts2:45., R.V. 

53 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

sary to awaken a community to its needs or 
its dangers. 

God wants his people to be joyful, but to 
joy in Him. Farmers rejoice when snowy 
shrouds are exchanged for green fields, and 
icicles for flowers. Business men rejoice in 
a revival of business, and to promote it they 
advertise extensively and compete sharply. 
Politicians rejoice in a political revival. 
For months before election they plan and 
labor with unbounded enthusiasm, resorting 
to every means and squandering dollars by 
the thousand to achieve their end. But there 
is a joy greater, more elevating, more per- 
meating, more enduring. It is the joy in 
God through a revival. A joy produced in- 
ternally by God and revealed by working en- 
thusiastically for God. 

We hear and see on every hand people's 
delight in things of the most transitory na- 
ture. Their happiness seems to depend on 
the accumulation of means and gratification 
of their desires, pleasures, and passions. 
'*Man is not made happy by increasing his 
possessions," is a gem of Platonic philos- 



54 



NEED 

opliY, "but bj diminishing his desires." The 
very thing which will make him happy and 
rich, is within reach, while the things he 
seeks are liable to pauperize. Have you not 
read of El Hafed, the rich Persian who lived 
on the banks of the Indus? From his beau- 
tiful home upon the hillside he could look 
down upon the gleaming river, and out over 
the glorious sea. One day there came to the 
cottage a Persian priest. He remarked, in 
the midst of his conversation, that if El 
Hafed had a diamond as big as his thumb 
he could purchase many farms like his, and 
if he had a bushel he could own the whole 
country. That moment the possessions of 
El Hafed seemed to have lost their value. 
That night he could not sleep. The next 
morning he inquired of the priest where he 
might find these diamonds. He was told to 
go where there were high mountains, with a 
deep river running between them over white 
sand. El Hafed sold his farm, took the 
money and went off in search for diamonds. 
He began through Egypt and Palestine. 
Years passed in his useless search. At last 



55 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

lie went over to Europe, and one day, bro- 
ken-hearted, in rags, a hungry pauper, stung 
with humiliation, and crushed by bitter dis- 
appointment, he stood on the shore of the 
Bay of Barcelona. Looking at the big 
waves that seemed to invite him to peace, he 
threw himself in and sank to rise no more. 
The man who purchased El Ilafed's farm 
was leading his camel to the stream at the 
edge of the garden to drink. While the 
camel buried his nose in the water, the man 
noticed a white flash of glittering, spark- 
ling something at his feet. Out of curiosity 
he picked up the strange stone, carried it to 
the house and laid it on the mantel. Some 
time after, this same priest came to visit El 
Hafed's successor. He noticed the flash of 
light from the mantel and sprang toward it 
in amazement, and exclaimed : "Here is a 
diamond! Has El Hafed returned?'' "Oh, 
no, that is not a diamond. It is a stone we 
found out in the garden." "But I tell you 
that it is a diamond," and the two men went 
into the garden and stirred up the white 
sand, and there they found the beautiful 



56 



NEED 

stones of the famous Golconda mines. The 
guide swung his hat and said, ^'Had El 
Hafed remained at home and dug in his own 
garden, he would have been the wealthiest 
and the most honored man of his time.'^ 

Substantial joy is easily acquired. Some, 
like the priest, inform us it is found in 
wealth, society, art, and pleasure. "Dis- 
tance lends enchantment,'' but when sought, 
one finds, like the pillars of the rainbow, it 
is farther aw^ay than imagined. Real joy is 
only in God. David tells us he rejoiced in 
the salvation, mercy, and name of God. 
Mary said, "My spirit hath rejoiced in God 
my Saviour,''^ and Paul exhorts, "Rejoice in 
the Lord alway : and again I say, Rejoice."- 
A spirit of continual reviving is a spirit of 
continual "joy in the Holy Ghost,"^ and 
^^joy of the Lord,''^ as Nehemiah says, "is 
your strength.'' Loss of joy in God is loss 
of strength and influence in us, hence David 
prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of thy sal- 
vation. Then I will teach transgressors thy 
ways; and sinners shall be converted unto 
thee."5 

»Lukel:47. 'Phil.4:4. »Rom.H:17. ••Neh.SrlO. sPs. 51: 
12, 13. 

57 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

The Question Answered. 
"Wilt thou not revive us?" Great ques- 
tion to ask God. Is a reviving beneficial? 
If a loved one were sick and daily losing his 
vitality, and we heard of some remedy that 
would do good, would we not secure it? 
Then note, "If ye then, being evil, know how 
to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your Father which is in 
heaven give good things to them that ask 
him?''^ It is, "Ask, and it shall be given 
you."^ A reviving depends upon the ^^thou/^ 
It is "in him we live and move, and have our 
being,"^ but He has promised if we will wait 
upon Him, "to renew our strength,'^^ to 
revive the spirit of the humble,"^ to "pour 
out a blessing,"^ and His promises "are yea 
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God 
by us.''^ _ 

"Stars may burn out, nor mountain walls endure, 
But God is true, His promises are sure 
To those who seek." 

"God's promises,'' said Spurgeon, "are not 
exhausted when they are fulfilled, for when 
once performed, they stand just as good as 

iMatt.7:ll. ^Matt. 7:7. sActs 17:28. *Isa. 40:31. ^Isa. 57; 
15. eMal. 3: 10. 'II. Cor. 1: 20. 

58 



NEED 

they did before, and we may await a second 
accomplishment of them/' For seven years 
Adoniram Judson sought the conversion of 
the Burmese, and when advised by the Mis- 
sionary Society to surrender his mission 
and start in another field, he answered: 
"No, no ! I cannot, and will not surrender 
this mission. Success is as certain here as 
the promise of a faithful God can make it." 
Then came the Burmese Pentecost. In the 
last days, God declares, "I will pour out my 
spirit upon all flesh."^ O child of God, 
take hope and pray as never before. Have 
faith in God. As David waited to "hear a 
sound of going in the tops of the mulberry 
trees''^ before he went to battle, knowing 
by such that God went before him to smite 
the Philistines, so wait thou till the Divine 
Spirit moves upon thy heart, for in reviving 
thee, others also shall be revived. Yes, yes, 

"The glorious time is rolling on. 
The gracious work is now begun; 

My soul a witness is; 
Come, taste and see the pardon free 
To all mankind, as well as me, 
Who come to Christ may live." 

I Joel. 2: 28. «I. Chron. 14: 15. 
59 



HINDERERS 



CHAPTER III. 

I^intietergf ot a I3UbibaI 

"A REVIVAL of religioD'' is a phrase that 
occupies little space on paper, but its results 
are far reaching. Through it the majority 
of Christians made their confession of 
Christ and renunciation of the world. By 
it teachers, ministers, and missionaries have 
gone forth to disciple other people, so that 
the results cannot be less than infinite and 
eternal. Benjamin Franklin was of the 
opinion that a single generation of Chris- 
tians who practiced the teaching of the Lord 
Jesus Christ would change the face of the 
earth. But, alas, the practicing is not al- 
ways what it should be. There are in every 
church members who rouse it to activity, or 
lull it to indolence, who chill or cherish its 
ardor, quicken or crush its energies. Help- 
ers are counteracted by hinderers, hence the 
cry of John Wesley, "Give me one hundred 

61 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

men who fear nothing but God, and hate 
nothing but sin, and are determined to know 
nothing but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, 
and I will set the world on fire." 

A desolate condition once prevailed. The 
glory of historic Jerusalem departed. Just 
as idolatry and immorality overthrew 
Sodom and Babylon, Venice and Constanti- 
nople, so did it the capital of Palestine. Her 
walls and gates, temples and palaces, were 
destroyed by the battering-ram and the 
torch. Her inhabitants were slain or sub- 
jected to serfdom, until Jeremiah lifted up 
his voice and cried : ^^How doth the city sit 
solitary, that was full of people ! how is she 
become as a widow! she that was great 
among the nations, and princess among the 
provinces, how is she become tributary ! She 
weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are 
on her cheeks : among all her lovers she hath 
none to comfort her: all her friends have 
dealt treacherously with her, they are be- 
come her enemies.''^ 

Hush, Jeremiah ! In the words of So- 
journer Truth to Lincoln in the dark days of 

» Lam. 1 : 1, 2. 

62 



HINDEKERS 

the Rebellion, "Is God dead?" No ; no more 
than He was when Antiochus Epiphanes 
put aged Eleazar and the Maccabees to 
death, and Nero illuminated his gardens 
with burning Christians, and popish armies 
hunted the Yaudois over Alpine peaks. God 
has an eye on a leader as when He called 
Moses for Israel, Luther for Germany, and 
Knox for Scotland. And when they pass off 
the stage of action God will have a successor 
ready. When Doctor Bunting, the great 
leader of English Methodists died, a speaker 
at the memorial service said, "When Jabez 
Bunting died, the star of Methodism set.'' 
"Praise God,'' exclaimed a listener, "that 's 
a lie." There is always an Elisha to follow 
an Elijah. 

In the courts of Artaxerxes Longimanus 
was a pious cup-bearer, Nehemiah by name. 
He was filled with a deep and prayerful 
concern for his native people and country. 
Going to the king, he begs leave to go and 
rebuild the walls, and "to seek the welfare 
of the children of Israel."^ The request was 
granted. With letters and a troop of eav- 

>Neh. 2: 10. 

63 



EEVIYAL THERMOMETER 

airy he started upon his mission. His heart 
Avas torn with anguish as he beheld the ram- 
parts broken down and the marks of fire 
upon the gates. He made known his inten- 
tion, and with the force and brilliancy of a 
spark in dry shavings an enthusiasm was 
kindled and a revival begun. Great and 
good as the work was, however, a mocking 
Sanballat cried, "Will they revive the stones 
out of the heaps of the rubbish which are 
buried?"^ And conspirators 

"... Like the tyrannous breathing of the North, 
Shakes all our buds from growing," 

'' Conspired, all of them together, to come 
and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hin- 
der it/^^ 

That revivals have been and are, is not to 
be questioned. That revivals are hindered 
is an acknowledged fact, but are not these 
hindrances the creation of hinderers? Re- 
move or change the latter and you affect the 
former. These hindrances do not necessarily 
have to be great to be "the accursed thing.''^ 
A mouse may trouble an elephant and a 

'Neh. 4:2. ^Neh. 4:8. ^josh. 7: 1. 
G4 



HINDEREPvS 

speck of dust blind the sight. It was a 
wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment 
that brought disaster to Israel's army. La- 
mentable the fact that those whom God has 
honored to promote the interests of His 
kingdom are frequently hinderers. In the 
words of Jesus, "Woe unto the world be- 
cause of offenses ! for it must needs be that 
offenses come ; but woe to that man by whom 
the offense cometh !"^ This word "offenses" 
is skandalon, from which our English words 
scandal and scandalized have come. Its lit- 
eral meaning is stumbling-block. "TFoe 
unto the ivorld because of stmiihling-hlocks/' 
Christ must be betrayed, but woe to Judas 
who betrayed him. He must be tried and 
delivered to die, but woe to Pilate for doing 
it. The church must walk through blood, 
but woe to Nero, Domitian, the Duke of 
Saxony and Charles IX. that compel it. 
It must be sustained by revivals, and woe 
to them that hinder it. Jesus charged cer- 
tain lawyers in these words, "And them that 
were entering in, ye hindered."^ 

As a revival may be begun by the fervent 

1 Matt. 18 : 7. « Luke 11 : 52. 
•5 65 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

prayers of one consecrated person, so may 
it be hindered by an unconsecrated one. 
This accusation will not be relished where 
sin is nourished ; but so great is the respon- 
sibility devolving upon each Christian that 
the fact must not be evaded. Sore eyes are 
pained by a strong light ; hence the awful re- 
sponsibility devolving upon each member of 
the church. Break one link in the chain and 
it is liable to render the whole inoperative 
and make it ineffectual. How many busi- 
ness firms have "gone to the walF' by the 
machinations of one dishonest man. Israel 
smarted and suffered under defeat, all 
through one man's sinfulness. The Jews and 
Romans crucified Christ, but it was through 
that one of whom Jesus said, "The same shall 
betray me."^ Said Mr. Finney, "A revival is 
the work of God, and so is a crop of wheat ; 
and God is as much dependent on the use of 
means in one case as the other. Therefore, 
a revival is as liable to be injured as a wheat 
field," the only difference being a wheat field 
may be hindered by the peculiar conditions 
of nature, while the real hindrances to a re- 

1 John 13:21. 

66 



HINDERERS 

vival are not weather, unbelievers, skeptics, 
Satan, though Paul speaks of "Satan hin- 
dering,"^ and Luther declared, "He was 
never employed about any fresh work for 
God, but he was either visited with a fit of 
sickness or some violent temptations of the 
devil," but a professed Christian or Chris- 
tians who wilfully and wickedly throw dis- 
credit upon a revival, manifesting no con- 
cern about the sinner or emotions of joy if 
some profess to be born of the Spirit, hold- 
ing aloof, criticising, allowing social en- 
gagements to interrupt, or by their actions 
denying "the power thereof."^ 

HiNDERERS. 

One of the hinderers is Faint-Heart, IN'e- 
hemiah had to deal with him, for said Judah, 
"The strength of the bearers of burdens is 
decayed, and there is much rubbish ; so that 
we are not able to build the wall."^ Seem- 
ing difficulties transformed him into a dis- 
believer and discourager. 

These '^not ahle'^ ones may not be inten- 
tionally wicked, but may lead to criminal 

» I. Thess. 2: 18. «II. Tim. 3:5. »Neh. 4:10. 
67 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

results. During the siege of Ladjsmith a 
civilian was arrested, tried by court martial, 
and sentenced to a year's imprisonment for 
this very thing. He would go along the 
picket-lines, saying disheartening words to 
the men on duty. He struck no blows for 
the enemy, he was not disloyal to the 
country, but he was a discourager. Instead 
of heartening the men on whom the defense 
depended, and making them braver and 
stronger with the idea that they could suc- 
ceed, he put faintness into their hearts and 
made them less courageous. The court mar- 
tial adjudged it a crime to speak disheart- 
eningly at such a time. How much more at 
the time of a revival. 

How frequently we hear, "I don't believe 
in revivals,'' as if they were not the work of 
God. Unbelief is not only the greatest sin, 
but the most hampering and hindering. Of 
Jesus we read, "He did not many mighty, 
works." Why? Because of some lack of 
power in Himself? No, but because of a 
lack in others that made it impossible to ex- 
ert that power, "because of their unbelief."^ 

1 Matt. 13:58. 

68 



HINDERERS 

This was what limited the exercise of His 
grace, and consequently afdicted ones were 
not benefited. Unbelief is insulting to God 
and detrimental to His work. 

A second hinderer is the ridiculer. "What 
do these feeble Jews?"^ said Sanballat; 
"will they fortify themselves? will they 
sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? 
will they revive the stones out of the heaps 
of the rubbish which are burned?" And 
Tobiah answered, "Even that which they 
build, if a fox go up, he shall even break 
down their stone wall."^ 

Sanballats and Tobiahs still exist. They 
not only question, but jeer at the methods, 
means, and persons in the work of a revival. 
They cite some former meetings and con- 
verts who were moved to make public pro- 
fession, yet were like the seed that "fell 
upon stony places,"^ and therefore they 
brand the whole as emotional, exciting, 
ridiculous. Ah, fellow-worker, better be 
born dumb than speak against God's special, 
ordained work. Better think twice before 
ridiculing once, for that was "the first arrow 

* Neh. 4 : 2. » Neh. 4:3. » Matt. 13 : 5. 
G9 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

out of the deviFs quiver.'^ Such grieves the 
Holy Sprit. 

A third hinderer is the indifferent one. He 
it is who cares little whether God bestows or 
withholds His blessing. He is like those 
Jews w^ho dwelt near, but said unto their 
fellows, "From all places whence ye shall 
return unto us they will be upon jou^^ 
They were too indifferent to assist, but not 
too indifferent to intimidate. Doubtless 
this class is one of the most numerous. Lit- 
tle interest in their own souPs welfare, less 
in others. Mr. Egerton Young, the mission- 
ary among the Indians of the far North, has 
related his experience of freezing. He says 
he heard the sweetest music, while every- 
thing about him was draped in the colors of 
the rainbow. He could hardly resist the 
temptation to drop down in the snow as into 
a luxurious couch, and go to sleep. Startled 
by the thought that he was freezing to death, 
he adopted an heroic remedy. He tied the 
tail-rope of his sled fast around his waist 
and gave his dogs the word to go, and off 
they went, dragging him through the snow 

»Neh. 4:12. 

70 



HINDERERS 

and bumping him against every hard thing 
in the way, till the blood began to circulate. 
Then the process of resuscitation was as 
painful as freezing was delightful. He felt 
as if a hot awl was in every nerve. Indif- 
ference is stagnation. As still waters are 
the first to freeze, inactive church-members 
are the first to lose interest. The magic 
spell of sleepiness takes hold and young 
converts and sinners wonder, If religion is 
as good as preached, why are these so-called 
Christians so indifferent? It was because of 
indifference that the angel • of the Lord 
cried, "Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the 
inhabitants thereof, because they came not 
to the help of the Lord, to the help of the 
Lord against the mighty."^ Indifference is a 
slur on the character of Jesus Christ. 

A fourth hinderer is the inconsistent 
Christian. Inconsistency is more harmful 
to the cause of Jesus than skepticism. Be- 
cause of this many "are incurably religious." 
They would resent the accusation if told 
they were not religious, and resent if told 
they were anything but consistent. It is 

»Judges5:23. 

71 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETEK 

possible to speak like a saint, yet act like a 
sinner. Pious words count for little without 
holy deeds. 

There were among Nehemiah's helpers 
persons who dealt dishonestly, so that there 
arose "a great cry of the people and of their 
wives against their brethren the Jews.'"^ 
Such made Nehemiah ^^very angry.''^ He 
was stirred when he learned how some had 
ground down and robbed others. 

In a certain city where the writer was 
pastor a number of the leading members of 
a church became bankrupt ( ?) but not pau- 
perized. An unbelieving acquaintance was 
attending service; if the writer remembers 
correctly, it was a testimony meeting. Said 

this friend : "There was Mr. A , who 

failed in the shoe business ; Mr. B , who 

failed in the dry-goods business, and Mr. 

C , who failed in the real-estate business. 

It looked like a congregation of bankrupts/' 
He laughed, as he related it to the Avriter, 
and then sneeringly said they ought to have 

^' "Jesus paid it all, 

All the debt I owe." 

»Neh. 5:1. «Neh.5:6. 



HINDERERS 

It was certainly ridiculous the way he 
told it, and more than one laughed over it. 
But, O my soul, how it did pain! The 
author knew more than he dared tell, for 
had not his counsel been solicited by those 
who had lost in the transactions? But the 
open shame on Christ's name and church! 
The grief caused the Holy Spirit ! The far- 
reaching influence which years will not ob- 
literate. 

Not only dishonesty, but w^orldliness char- 
acterizes the inconsistency of some Chris- 
tians. The love of pleasure, the richness of 
apparel, the glitter of jewelry seem of more 
importance to them than a work of grace. 
How true "the love of heaven and the love 
of earth are like scales of a balance — w^hen 
one rises, the other falls.'' "Be not con- 
formed to this world,"^ said Paul. "Love 
not the world,"^ wrote John, "neither the 
things that are in the world. If any man 
love the world, the love of the Father is not 
in him." 

Professor Bernard used to give a famous 
exhibition. Beneath the receiver of his air- 

iRom. 12:2. ^I. John 2: 15. 

73 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

pump he placed a sparrow, with sufficient 
air beneath the receiver to sustain the spar- 
row's life, without asphyxia, for three hours. 
At the expiration of the first hour he intro- 
duced a second sparrow under the receiver, 
which immediately fell dead, while the other 
sparrow was able to survive in that atmos- 
phere for another two hours. The reason 
w^as that the second sparrow, introduced at 
once out of a comparatively pure atmos- 
phere into the vitiated air beneath the re- 
ceiver, was immediately suffocated ; whereas 
the other sparrow had become gradually 
accommodated to the presence of the poi- 
sonous carbonic acid gas in the air he was 
respiring. 

How true in the church ! Many are living 
in a vitiated spiritual and moral atmosphere 
and have become gradually accommodated 
to it, and seemingly unconscious of it. They 
are worldly-minded, worldly-acting Chris- 
tians. They have so drawn the lines of dis- 
tinction and discrimination that the church 
is not "one in faith and interest." They 
are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of 



HINDERERS 

God/' and as such they are a slur on Chris- 
tianity. 

A skeptic died recently. When a young 
man he had a desire to become a Christian, 
but he thought he would test Christianity in 
others. He therefore invited a young lady 
of the church to attend the theater on 
prayer-meeting evening. He said he hoped 
and almost prayed she would not accept the 
invitation. She did, however, and went. 
The next prayer-meeting he invited her to a 
concert, and she went. There was to be a 
Sunday excursion. He invited her to this, 
and, to his surprise, she went. From that 
day he declared he lost confidence, and lived 
to despise religion and die without hope. 
Foolish man to try such a test, and foolish 
woman to be so inconsistent. Yet this is not 
an isolated case. Everywhere will be found 
those whose conduct is not the counterpart 
of their profession. In the words of Nehe- 
miah, "It is not good that ye do ; ought ye not 
to walk in the fear of our God because of the 
reproach of the heathen, our enemies?"^ 
How much better to be like a rescue mis- 

>Neh.5:9. 

75 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

sionary who was formerly a society belle, 
but who consecrated her brilliant gifts and 
beautiful voice to the Lord's work. About 
two weeks after her consecration she went 
into a mission, and while there was asked 
to talk with a poor wreck of a gambler. As 
she approached him and opened the con- 
versation, he looked at her suspiciously, and 
asked, "Do you play cards?" "No,'' she re- 
plied. "Do you dance?" "No," she an- 
swered. "Do you go to the theater?" "No, 
not now." "Well, then," he replied, "you 
can talk to me. But I won't listen to one 
word from fine folks who are doing, on a 
small scale, the things that have brought us 
poor wretches where we are." Would there 
were more of such Christians, "known and 
read of all men."^ 

How Achieve Victory Over Hinderers 
AND Hindrances. 

In the days of Joshua, when Israel came 
to Shechem, their leader urged, "Put away 
the strange gods from among you."^ God 
said, "Take up the stumbling-block out of 

m. Cor. 3: 2. 'Josh. 24: 23. 

76 



HINDERERS 

the way of my people."^ Our Savior in the 
temple said to the merchants, "Take these 
things hence.''^ G. Campbell Morgan, in 
giving a definition of statesmanship, once 
said, "To discern which way God is mov- 
ing, and get things out of the way.'' A 
common man, while walking, was seen to 
kick aside any particularly large or jagged 
stone that lay loose upon the road. Being 
asked why he did so, he replied: "I don't 
like to see a stone like that in the road and 
not move it. It might trip a horse, or break 
a rider's neck, and 'tis very little trouble 
to kick it aside." 

Deal with the cause, and one eflflciently 
deals with the effect. Remove the substance, 
and the shadow is gone. It is not the dis- 
paraging word, the gaudy dress, the fasci- 
nating wine-cup, the social dance, the be- 
witching play, the double dealing, but the 
character back of these. 

There are those within our churches who 
are toith us, but not of us. They hinder the 
work of Christ by the hindrances they put in 
the way. If removed, the hindrances go, 

iJsa. 57:14. 2John2:16. 

77 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Paul exhorts, "Therefore put away from 
among yourselves that wicked person."^ The 
discipline that sometimes subtracts is the 
kind that multiplies. A means of grace may 
be in the decrease of members more than an 
increase. "Judgment,"^ said Peter, "must 
begin at the house of God.'' The formality 
and worldliness, the selfishness and self- 
complacency of much of our religion must 
be removed if God is expected to bless the 
people. 

There is a story told of a man walking 
down a dark street, being met by another 
man with a staff and lantern. The striking 
thing the stranger noticed was that the man 
with the lantern was feeling his way with his 
staff, and apparently making no use of the 
light. When asked if he was blind, the man 
replied that he was, but he knew the street 
very well, and had no difficulty in making 
his way with his staff. "But," asked the 
stranger, "why do you carry a lantern?" 
The blind man answered, "To keep other 
people without lanterns from stumbling 
over me." How illustrative of that prin- 

VI. Cor. 5:13. «L Pet. 4: 17. 

78 



HINDERERS 

ciple that no one lives to himself. Not 
every one can be a beacon, but there is not 
one but may keep himself from being a 
stumbling-block. And he that is a stum- 
bling-block carries with him the "woe"^ of 
Christ. 

Nehemiah did with the hinderers what 
Hezekiah did with Sennacherib's letter. He 
"spread it before the Lord."^ When San- 
ballat and Tobiah ridiculed Nehemiah, he 
prayed : "Hear, O our God ; for we are de- 
spised; and turn their reproach upon their 
own head."^ And when the leaders con- 
spired against him, we read, "We made our 
prayer unto our God."^ Prayer is always in 
order, and the most efficacious means of 
grace, if made (dialogue rather than mono- 
logue. 

Nehemiah not only prayed, but he kept an 
eye on his enemies. He "set a watch against 
them day and night."^ If the safety of a 
city, a ship, an army, demands sentinels, so 
does the church. God has said, "I have 
made thee a watchman . . . therefore hear 

»Matt.l8:7. ^II. Kings 19: 14. 'Neh.4:4. «Neh.4:9. *Neh. 
4:9. 

79 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

the word at mj mouth, and give them warn- 
ing from men."^ 

When the enemies of Nehemiah wanted a 
conference in one of the villages in the plain 
of Ono to do him "mischief/'^ Nehemiah re- 
fused to compromise, but sent word, saying, 
^^I am doing a great work, so that I cannot 
come down.''^ It is this compromising with 
^'the power of darkness"^ that makes the 
church ineffective, and cripples her useful- 
ness. 

Besides this Nehemiah not only suggested 
but organized his forces to fight for their in- 
terests. ^^I even set the people after their 
families,"^ said he, "with their swords, 
their spears, and their bows,'' and cried, 
'"^fight for your brethren, your sons, and your 
daughters, your wives, and your houses." 
And so it was "they which builded on the 
wall, and they that bare burdens, with those 
that laded, every one with one of his hands 
wrought in the work, and with the other 
hand held a weapon."^ 

We are to "fight the good fight of faith,-'^ 

lEzek. 3:17, «Neh.6:2. 3Neh.6:S. *Col.l:13. '5Neh.4:13, 
14. 6 ]sf eh. 4 : 17. U. Tim. 6 : 12. 

80 



HINDERERS 

to "revive the stones out of the heaps of the 
rubbish." Christianity is more than a song, 
it is a i^ractice. More than a pleasure, it is 
a battle. Satan and his emissaries are en- 
croaching on holy ground. The church is 
not unconscious, though largely indifferent 
to the fact. We cannot expect, we will not 
have a revival of religion in our own hearts 
or in the church if we indulge worldliness, 
or court the association of the wicked. We 
need the devotion of Martin Brewer Ander- 
son, who used to say : "It has been the pur- 
pose of my life to live as far as I might for 
others ; like my divine Master, to give myself 
for them, and so far to renew in myself that 
perfect life." It is said that Napoleon, com- 
ing to a deep stream at the foot of the Alps, 
was told they could not get the artillery 
across. Meditating a moment, he answered : 
"We must cross this stream here, or we can- 
not see Italy." When Bismarck was in- 
formed that a marsh was a barrier to the 
German army, he answered : "Men, we must 
cross this marsh, or we cannot see Paris." 
And, if we would see the church revived, the 



81 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

arm of God made bare in the salvation of 
sinners, let us live the Christ-lifej and re- 
move every hindrance. Then will it not be 
said of us, as it was of certain ones in Jere- 
miah and Malachi's day, *'Ye have caused 
many to stumble."^ But otherwise, they 
shall rise to "call us blessed."^ 

"Blest too is he who can divine 
Where real right doth lie ; 
And dares to take the side that seems 
Wrong to man's blindfold eye." 

»Jer. 18: 15; Mai. 2: 8. "MaLS: 12. 



82 



PREPARATION 



CHAPTER IV. 

preparation tor a Eebibal 

While to revive is God^s work, all Chris- 
tians have been designated as "workers to- 
gether with him."^ "This people,"^ said He, 
"have I formed for myself : they shall show 
forth my praise." Men can do nothing with- 
out God, God rarely does anything in the 
advancement of his kingdom without man. 
Before Christ entered upon His active min- 
istry of human redemption, He was preced- 
ed by a representative. No record have we 
of his education. His school was nature's 
laboratory, his books the parchments of 
God's dealings with Israel. Although no 
doctrinal zealot expounded to him his belief, 
yet such of the priesthood came to interro- 
gate him. "Who art thou?"^ one asked. 
"Art thou Elias?'' inquired another. "Art 
thou that prophet?" demanded a third. 
"No," came the answer. Then, in unison, 

III. Cor. 6:1. ^Isa. 43:21. 'John 1:19, 21, 22, 23. 
83 



REVIVAL THERMOMETEll 

they asked, "Who art thou? What sayest 
thou of thyself?'' And he answered, "I am 
the voice." 

A voice ! Think of it ! Voices, it is said, 
never die. They may seem weak and evan- 
escent, but they are among the most endur- 
ing and powerful of human gifts. The ax 
might decapitate the Baptist's head, but his 
voice still echoes against sinful associations. 
The poison hemlock might rob the life of 
Socrates, the fire burn the body of Cranmer, 
the bullet cut short the existence of Lincoln, 
but their voices exert a potent spell which 
increases with the going of the years. 

Because messengers die that is not to say 
the messages die. Shakespeare's lines are 
the world's imperishable heritage, Wesley's 
stanzas the delight of thousands, Raphael's 
colors have, so far, outlasted time; the 
"Emancipation Proclamations" of Wilber- 
force and Lincoln perpetuate their mem- 
ories, and the explanations of the dying 
Robertson and saintly Eddy are encourag- 
ing. "I must die," said the former ; "let God 
do His work." "We must, we can, we will 



84 



PKEPAKATION 

conquer !" said the latter. "Forward is the 
word ; sing and pray, eternity dawns." 

In the biography of John Williams, the 
martyr missionary of Erromanga, is record- 
ed an instance of a chip playing a part in the 
building of the mission-house. Calling a na- 
tive, he wrote a message on it with charcoal 
to his wife, and bade him take it to her. She 
read the words, went to the workshop, took 
out a saw, and handed it to the native to 
take to her husband. He was overwhelmed 
with wonder when he saw what the chip 
meant, how it carried a message and brought 
an answer, and he danced around Williams, 
saying: "The chip talks, the chip talks." 

Thus was it with John. He was "a voice" 
not for his time only, but for all time. The 
truth he uttered is as necessary now as then. 
What was done by him must be done by us. 
Mackay wrote an elegant poem, "If I Were 
a Voice." He then told how he would fly 
over land and sea, and arouse men to noble 
thinking and brave deeds. This can be done 
by us if we will only prepare the way of the 
Lord. The request, "Lift up your eyes, and 

85 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

look on the fields ; for they are white already 
to harvest/'^ is a fact in the beginning of the 
twentieth century as it was in the beginning 
of the first. They 

"... Are teeming, 
With the waves of ripened grain; 
Far and near their gold is gleaming 
O'er the sunny slope and plain." 

Therefore 

*Trepare Ye the Way of the Lord^ Make 
His Paths Straight.^^^ 

Preparation is necessary in any line of 
work. ^'No pains, no gains," is an English 
proverb, which is akin to the well-known 
"No sweat, no sweet." The same law of con- 
sideration and provision that governs suc- 
cess in the material world, also governs it in 
the spiritual. 

It is wonderful to mark the various senses 
in which the word "preparation" is used in 
the Scriptures. When speaking of the cit- 
ies of refuge, God told Moses "thou shalt 
prepare thee a way."^ To Malachi, He said, 
"I will send my messenger and he shall pre- 
pare the way before me."^ "Go," said Jesus, 

» John 4:35. "Mark 1:3. 3Deut.l9:3. *Mal. 3:1. 
86 



PREPARATION 

*^and prepare us the Passover."^ It is a 
"kingdom prepared/'^ by Christ, "a city/'^ 
and we are informed "eye hath not seen, nor 
ear heard, neither have entered into the 
heart of man, the things which God hath 
prepared for them that love him."^ This be- 
ing the case, should we not prepare the way 
for His triumphant march into our midst, 
and into the midst of others, until "the king- 
doms of this world are become the kingdom 
of our Lord, and of his Christ"?^ 

Charles G. Finney, that Spirit-filled and 
Spirit-moved man of God, once said : "The 
connection between the right use of means 
for a revival and a revival is as philosophic- 
ally sure as between the right use of means 
to raise grain and a crop of wheat. Take the 
Bible, the nature of the case, and the history 
of the church altogether, and you will find 
fewer failures in the use of means for a revi- 
val than in farming or in any other worldly 
business. Yea, more, failures in business 
sometimes will come in spite of the business 
man's honesty through the fluctuation of 



iLuke22:8. 9Matt.25:34. »Heb. 11:15. *I.Cor.2:9. "Rev. 

11:15. 

87 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

the market. Failures in farming will come 
in spite of the farmer's efforts, because of 
the weather, but a failure in a revival, if 
conducted on biblical plans, has never been 
known.'' 

The first biblical plan in the preparation 
of a revival is 

Rectification. 

"Man's inhumanity to man" on the part 
of the Christian and the church must be cor- 
rected. In the first century it used to be 
said, "See how those Christians love one 
another I" Now, the dishonest methods, 
false utterances, and mean insinuations of 
some actually throttle the very spirit of a re- 
vival. When told that a dastardly deed had 
been committed against a poor man, David 
declared the culprit should be punished. 
"Thou art the man," was the quick retort of 
Nathan. 

The only way to correct a wrong is to 
make it right. Setting up bogus claims to 
offset it, slandering others to appear inno- 
cent, keeping quiet "till it blows over," loud 
talk, long prayers, pious looks, hearty hand- 

88 



PREPARATION 

shakes, and "God bless jou's'' do not, and 
cannot make wrong right, neither will they 
secure the approbation of God. Emerson 
uttered a practical philosophy when he said : 
"How can I hear the words you say, when 
tchat you are is thundering in my ears?" 
Actions speak louder than words. 

The resentful remembrance of injuries no 
Christian should indulge. "It may be," said 
Chapman, "as wicked to take offense as to 
give offense." Darius, king of Persia, is 
said to have ordered a page to shout in his 
ear every time he sat down to dinner : "Sire, 
remember the Athenians !" But Darius was 
a heathen. Jesus taught good for evil and 
forgiveness, "seventy times seven,"^ setting 
also the innocent party on a delightful war- 
patJi of peace. "Moreover," said He, "if thy 
brother shall trespass against thee, go and 
tell him his fault between thee and him 
alone."^ 

Impossibilities God does not demand. 
The Divine law of justice between man and 
man is unchangeable. When anything has 
been unwarrantedly appropriated, restitu- 

iMatt. 18: 22. 'Matt 18: 15. 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

tion must be made. One of the first laws 
governing mankind demanded this. "If a 
soul sin and commit a trespass against the 
Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that 
which was delivered him to keep, or in fel- 
lowship, or in a thing taken away by vio- 
lence, or hath deceived his neighbor, or have 
found that which was lost, and lieth con- 
cerning it, and sweareth falsely, in any of 
all these that a man doeth, sinning therein : 
then it shall be, because he hath sinned and 
is guilty, that he shall restore that which he 
took violently away, or the thing which he 
hath deceitfully gotten, or the lost thing 
which he found, or all that about which he 
hath sworn falsely : he shall even restore it 
in the principal, and shall add the fifth part 
more thereto and give it unto him to whom 
it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass 
offering."^ 

A revival that does not move members to 
rectify wrong is not a revival in the biblical 
sense. When Latimer preached on this sub- 
ject, one member of his congregation 
brought him £20 to restore to its rightful 

1 Lev. 6:2-5. 

90 



PREPARATION 

owner. The next day another brought him 
£30, and later, another £200. Said he: "If 
je make no restitution of goods detained, 
je shall cough in hell, and the devils shall 
laugh at you." When President Finney dis- 
coursed on this theme, it is said the follow- 
ing day people could be seen taking back to 
their several owners saws, axes, and things 
they had borrowed, but had failed to return. 
The wonder is that we have revivals at all, 
when church-members so frequently take 
the advantage of others. Many of us need 
pray God to give us grace to keep the sixth 
commandment. 

At the annual meeting of the Farmers' 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Michigan, 
some years ago, the president returned 
$1,900 conscience money. He received the 
money from a man who had suffered loss by 
fire some years before, and who confessed 
that he had hired a friend to burn his prop- 
erty while he was from home. He said that 
the return money included interest in full. 
He was sorry for the crime, and begged for- 
giveness. He had mortgaged his farm to ob- 
tain the wherewith to make restitution. 

91 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

In one of the author's earlier parishes was 
an official member on whom no one could 
apparently lay a finger. How he could talk 
and pray! To hear him was to be enchant- 
ed. During a special series of meetings, he 
arose and shocked the whole congregation 
by confessing that he was hindering the 
work of the Holy Spirit. He then told how, 
many years before, he had borrowed a cer- 
tain sum of money from a widow, who had 
died without leaving any evidence of the 
loan. The brother, knowing this, stifled his 
conscience, and went along as though he 
were not indebted a penny. The next day 
after the confession he drove nearly twenty 
miles to a daughter of the deceased woman, 
related the incident, paid the principal, and 
added a proper percentage. Did he do 
right? If so, do we do wrong if we overlook 
or withhold anything which rightly belongs 
to some one else? Can God forgive this 
kind of a sin before restitution is made? 
Can a revival of religion be expected when 
we know we have done wrong to a fellow- 
Christian and have not made that wrong 
right? 

92 



PREPARATION 

The second biblical plan in the prepara- 
tion of a revival is 

Confession. 

Those worthies who were on the most inti- 
mate terms with God deplored most their 
sins and failures. Daniel said, "We have 
sinned, and we have committed iniquity.''^ 
Isaiah declared, "Woe is me! for I am un- 
done, because I am a man of unclean lips."^ 
David said, "I will confess my transgres- 
sions unto the Lord.''^ Ezra acknowledged, 
"I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face 
to thee, my God."^ 

Confession is an acknowledgement of a 
fault or of a crime committed. It is to the 
soul what lancing of an abscess is to the 
flesh. It implies humility on the part of the 
confessor, and "in God's sight," said Moody, 
"this is of great price." "Man owning his 
weakness," said Thomas Fuller," is the only 
stock for God thereon to graft the grace of 
His assistance." With man it is, confess 
and receive punishment; with God, confess 
and receive mercy. 

»Dan. 9:5. »Isa. 6:5. 'Ps. 32:5. ♦Ezra 9: 6. 
93 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Possibly few things seem harder to do, 
but in the doing nothing is more blessed. It 
is not a question of hardness, but rightness. 
The Duke of Wellington once thought he 
rang his bell. There was no answer. He 
gave a second and third pull, and still no 
answer. After a while his footman, quite at 
leisure, happened to appear. Wellington 
turned upon him with indignant words. 
"Please, your Grace," stammered the poor 
man, "the bell is broken." "Broken, is it? 
Oh, I was not aware of that. I am really 
very sorry, William. I beg your pardon." 
A little girl was present. She had been an 
eager listener to the remarks. "My dear," 
said Wellington, "learn something from 
this. Whenever you are in the wrong, own 
it !" 

Incidents and injunctions concerning con- 
fession teem in the Bible. "I have sinned," 
is an utterance of more than a half-dozen of 
its characters. John informs us if we make 
confession to God, Christ "is faithful and 
just to forgive us our sins."^ It was when 
David without palliation said: "I have 

U.John 1:9. 

94 



PREPARATION 

sinned against God/'^ that Nathan declared, 
"The Lord hath put away thy sin/' 

To make confession in a general way, as 
so often done in public, is profitable, but not 
always acceptable to God. It must be more 
direct and complete. James demands, "Con- 
fess your faults one to another."^ Private 
or personal wrong demands personal confes- 
sion. Only the brave and true-hearted do so. 
"I have just lost a battle," wrote Frederick 
the Great to the Senate, "and it was entirely 
mine own fault.'' "I have sinned against 
heaven and in thy sight,"^ was the acknowl- 
edgment of the prodigal to his father. 

"A wrong confessed," is said to be "half 
redressed." It works both ways, giving peace 
to the confessor and satisfaction to the one 
to whom the confession is made. It removes 
the feelings of ill will, recreates a spirit of 
confidence, and reinstates both parties in 
one another's affection. 

During the illness of Dr. A. J. Gordon, he 
requested his wife to leave him alone, that 
he might talk with the Lord. She, however, 
stole around and overheard him. He went 

» II. Sam. 12 : 13. 'James 5:6. « Luke 15 : 21. 
95 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

on, confessing and deploring his sins, his 
lack of courage and devotion, and then 
finally said, "Now, Lord, speak to me once ; 
speak to me and let me know that it is all 
forgiven." Suddenly the current of his 
thoughts changed, and he exclaimed, "Now, 
Lord, we are on the same old terms." Bless- 
ed experience ! Though humiliating to self, 
confession is exalting to Christ. Though 
painful to acknowledge one's wrong to an- 
other, yet it produces pleasure. O child of 
God, if wrong has been done, you owe it to 
the one wronged, to yourself, and to your 
Christ and His work to admit it, for if you 
do not, how can you expect to have that 
peace "that passeth all understanding,"^ 
and a desire to see the work of God revived? 
The third biblical plan in the preparation 
for a revival is 

Unification. 
In union there is strength. There must 
be harmonious feeling, the best understand- 
ing, the most cordial good will, mutual con- 
fidence, and cooperation to secure this work 

» Phil. 4:7. 

96 



PREPARATION 

of grace. "Men's hearts/' said Carlyle, 
"ought not to be set against one another, but 
set icith one another, and all against the evil 
thing only." The Macedonian Phalanx was 
likened to a solid union of shields locked 
together, so long as each soldier kept his 
place in the moving mass. When Scilurus 
was on his death-bed he called his many chil- 
dren, and offered them a bundle of darts to 
break. When each found it impossible, he 
drew them out, one by one, and broke them. 
By this he taught that if they held together 
they would continue strong, but divided they 
would be weak. How blessed to read before 
Pentecost, "They were all with one accord 
in one place" ;^ and after Pentecost, "And 
all that believed were together, and had all 
things common . . . praising God and hav- 
ing favor with all the people."^ Every mind 
and heart was set each with the other, just 
like one of these tower clocks with four 
faces, yet always telling the same time. 
Tennyson's advice is, 

"Tho' all experience past became 
Consolidate in mind and frame." 

» Acta 2:1. 'Acts 2:44, 47. 

^ 97 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

One of the most cunning devices of the 
devil is to divide the sentiments and efforts 
of God's people. Nothing pleases him more 
than to set one at variance with another, 
thus filling the mouth of the scorner and 
heaping contempt on the cause of Christ. 
Many years ago two English vessels met in 
the night and each mistook the other for a 
French man-of-war. A terrible engagement 
ensued, in which many were w^ounded and 
both vessels seriously damaged. Imagine 
their surprise when the day broke — they had 
been fighting their own countrymen. They 
approached and saluted each other, and 
wept bitterly. How sad to know that Chris- 
tians sometimes do likewise. 

Another device of Satan is to sandwicli 
during an evangelistic effort other attrac- 
tions in order to divert the attention and 
rob the church of combined power. Lec- 
tures, concerts, parties, business engage- 
ments, all of which are good in themselves, 
become calamitous when made to interfere 
with the most important work God has com- 
mitted to human hands. A successful 



98 



PREPARATION 

church must be a united church. One great 
fault with many is that they need a period- 
ical arousing. They unite in an evangelistic 
effort after being "warmed up/' but when 
the meetings are over they fall out of line, 
and are found asleep, "abiding by the stuff," 
while the faithful are waging a constant 
warfare the whole year through. 

Have you not read of the strange clock 
which belonged to a Hindoo prince? A 
large gong was hung on poles near the dial, 
and all about on the ground lay a pile of 
artificial human heads, ribs, legs, and arms, 
the whole number of bones in twelve perfect 
bodies; but the pile appeared to have been 
thrown together in the greatest confusion. 
When the hands of the clock indicated the 
hour of one, from out of the pile crawled 
first the number of parts needed to form the 
frame of one man, part coming to part with 
quick click, and when completed the figure 
sprang up, seized a mallet, and walking up 
to the gong, struck one blow. This done, he 
returned to the pile and fell to pieces again. 
When two o'clock came, two arose and did 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

likewise ; and at the hours of noon and mid- 
night the entire heap sprang up, and, march- 
ing to the gong, struck one after another his 
blow, making twelve in all, then returning, 
fell to pieces as before. 

Alas, the "few" who must carry on the 
work of God! "The harvest truly is plen- 
teous, but the laborers are few."^ Christ 
prayed and burdened hearts in pulpit and 
pew are praying also for a oneness in inter- 
est, in faith, in love, in cooperation. If the 
works of a watch must be in harmony with 
each part to keep correct time, and the 
machinery of a locomotive to produce loco- 
motion, then it is absolutely necessary in the 
work of God that the church be a unit, if we 
are to have the reign of heaven in its full- 
ness. 

It is a well-known fact that the power of 
an unbroken step of a regiment of soldiers 
when crossing a bridge is liable to shake it 
to pieces, hence the command, "break step." 
It is the united step of the church, led by the 
Holy Spirit, that is irresistible and neces- 
sary to shake and destroy the powers of evil. 

»Matt.9:37. 

100 



PREPARATION 

Such is essential to success. He that under- 
stands it not, fails in his conception of our 
Lord's intercessory prayer. It is not eccle- 
siastical uniformity, but, as Joseph Parker 
said : "One motive — to serve God, to please 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and to answer the 
ministry of God the Holy Ghost.'' Let us 
then lay aside mutual suspicion, repress our 
eagerness to seize and magnify differences, 
and "pray everywhere lifting up holy hands 
without wrath or doubting,"^ or we can 
never sing of the world's evangelism : 

*^Like a mighty army moves the chiirch of God ; 
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have 

trod. 
We are not divided ; all one body we ; 
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity. 
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war. 
With the cross of Jesus going on before." 

»L Tim. 2:8. 



101 



CONDITIONS 



CHAPTER V. 

Condttion^ of a Withibal 

As PROMISES in the Scripture are attached 
to provisos, so are revivals. While of God 
they do not solely depend upon God. Chris- 
tians influence Him, for or against; and 
they are responsible for His pleasure or dis- 
pleasure. As the sinfulness of Noah's day 
brought the flood, the holy desires of the 
pious Christians of Jerusalem brought Pen- 
tecost. It is "be it unto thee even as thou 

AVilt."! 

A condition is something on which any- 
tliing depends. It is defined as "a preexist- 
ing state of things requisite in order that 
something else may take effect." As belief 
in Christ is a condition to salvation, and 
peace of mind to walking "after the Spir- 
it,''^ so a revival of religion depends upon 
the attitude, the desire, and the reasons of 
the one it affects. The attitude — he "must 

»Matt 15:28. »Eom.8:l. 

103 



KEVIYAL THERMOMETER 

humble himself in the sight of the Lord'';^ 
the desire — that he might be ^^transformed 
by the renewing of the mind" f the reasons 
— that the church live up to her privileges, 
fulfill her mission, until everywhere, souls 
"might be saved."^ 

The conditions of a revival are not in 
laying plans and organizing committees. 
Neither are they in the employment of noted 
evangelists or the formation of great cho- 
ruses, but in getting in touch with God. Sin 
must be put away. Protest must give place 
to kind but firm discipline, and God's people 
must be willing to be or do anything He re- 
quires. Though in the world, they must not 
be of the world. Doctor Hamilton tells of a 
little creature known to naturalists, which 
possesses the power to surround itself with 
a holloAv globe, which is made both air and 
water tight. Thus protected and supplied, 
it descends to the bottom of the stagnant 
pond, and remains until the supply of air is 
exhausted. Then it rises to the surface, 
bursts the globe, and proceeds to supply it- 
self. In its descent and sojourn in the re- 

» James 4 : 10. =» Rom. 12 : 2. ^ Rom. 10 : 1. 
104 



CONDITIONS 

gions below it receives no harm, and when 
its supply is exhausted it knows where to go 
and how to obtain a fresh supply. The 
Christian is compelled to mingle with sinful 
creatures, and sometimes circumstances 
compel him to go into sinful places, but he 
can be supplied with that grace that keeps 
him "unspotted from the world."^ 

The conditions for a revival demand a 
renewed solemnity on the part of the Chris- 
tian and the church, a seriousness that 
saddens rather than lively singing that glad- 
dens. Finney stated that he had never seen 
a singing revival that was really a work of 
God. As the countryman of whom Josephus 
tells, cried for four years against Jerusalem, 
saying, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem I"^ And as 
Joel commanded, "Gather the people, sanc- 
tify the congregation, assemble the elders, 
gather the children, and those that suck the 
breasts; let the bridegroom go forth of his 
chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, 
weep between the porch and the altar, and 
let them say. Spare thy people, O Lord, and 

«Jamesl:27. ^Ezek. 16:23. 

105 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

give not thy heritage to reproach'';^ so 
would we decry the looseness and laxity in 
theory and practice which abounds, and 
speak in the words of the "high and lofty 
One that inhabiteth eternity" : 

*'/ dicell in the high and holy place, with 
liini also that is of a contrite and humble 
spirit y to revive the spirit of the humble, and 
to revive the heart of the contrite ones/^^ 

"Wherever the Scripture bears witness to 
the Divine Mightiness/' said an ancient 
Jewish writer, "it brings out side by side 
with it the Divine humbleness.'' But for 
God to humble Himself to requicken and 
renew man, man according to certain pre- 
scribed conditions must humble himself be- 
fore God. "If my people," said He, "which 
are called by my name, shall humble them- 
selves and pray, and seek my face and turn 
from their wicked ways, then will I hear 
from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and 
will heal their land."^ 

The first and doubtless the greatest factor 
in a revival is 

•Joel 2: 16, 17. 9Isa.57:15. >II. Chroh.7:14. 
100 



CONDITIONS 

Prayer. 
The Bible emphasizes no one thing more 
than this. It is fundamental to a Christian 
life and indispensable to Christian activity. 
Too many of us, I fear, like Henry Martyn, 
will deplore the fact when our labors are 
ending that we have spent so little time with 
God. As the blossom precedes the fruit, so 
prayer precedes a revival. It is, "Ask of me, 
and I shall give thee."^ It is, "Go hide thy- 
self," before the Lord commanded Elijah, 
"Go shew thyself." For this, said He, "I 
will yet be enquired of."^ Nehemiah tells 
how Ezra stood in the street before the 
water-gate of Jerusalem to preach to fifty 
thousand people, and he "blessed the Lord, 
the great God. And all the people answered, 
Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: 
and they bowed their heads, and worshiped 
the Lord with their faces to the ground."^ 
The great revival on the day of Pentecost 
was preceded by a ten-day prayer-service. 
"Then they that gladly received his word 
were baptized, and the same day there were 
added unto them about three thousand 

iPs.2:8, »Ezek.36:37. ^Neh. 8:6. 
107 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

souls."^ The formation of the church at 
Philippi was through a midnight prayer- 
meeting. The Reformation was ushered in 
through the mighty, heaven-stirring prayers 
of Luther. The English revival under Wes- 
ley was the result of the prayers of the 
^^Holy Club." The great awakening in Scot- 
land, under John Livingstone, at the first 
meeting of which five hundred souls were 
converted, was preceded by a prayer-meet- 
ing which lasted all night. The night before 
Jonathan Edwards preached at Enfield, 
Massachusetts, on "Sinners in the Hands of 
an Angry God," when men grasped the pil- 
lars of the church for fear of slipping into 
perdition, a company of believers prayed; 
and while he preached, prayer was offered 
in an adjoining house. 

The first revival of 1857-58, which began 
in Ireland and went like a tornado through 
Scotland and England, was, according to 
Professor Gibson, through the prayers of 
four young men in the little county school- 
house at Tannybrake, county of Antrim. 
One year later ten thousand members were 

iActs2:41. 

108 



CONDITIONS 

added to the churches in Ireland. Finnej 
frequently spent whole nights in prayer, and 
when engaged in evangelistic work was ac- 
companied by a Father Nash, a praying, 
rather than a singing helper. Said he : "I 
have known persons pray till the blood 
started from their nostrils, and others pray 
till they were wet with perspiration in the 
coldest weather in winter.'^ Such prayer 

"... Makes the darkened cloud withdraw 
And climbs the ladder Jacob saw, 
Gives exercise to faith and love, 
Brings every blessing from above." 

In praying for a revival, we need to bear 
in mind that it is conditional. Three all- 
inclusive provisos has Jesus demanded. The 
first is union with Him. "If ye abide in me, 
and my words abide in you, ye shall ask 
what ye will and it shall be done unto you."^ 
The second is proper petition. Four times 
He requests that we ask God in His name. 
The third is faith. "Whatsoever ye shall 
ask believing, ye shall receive.''^ 

We should also remember that there are 
some things which will make our prayers 

» John 14 : 13, 14 ; 15 : 7 ; 16 : 23. ^ Matt. 21 : 22. 
109 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

ineffectual and stay the hand of God even 
in a revival : 

First, wickedness of heart, "If I regard 
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
me."^ Second, pollution of hand. "Yea, 
when ye make many prayers, I will not 
hear: your hands are full of blood."^ 
Third, unholy desires. "Ye ask and receive 
not, because ye ask amiss."^ Fourth, un- 
belief. "Let him ask in faith, nothing waver- 
ing . . . For let not that man think he shall 
receive anything of the Lord."^ 

It is the wish of Jesus, however, that our 
prayers be heard and answered. He gives 
two reasons : First, "That the Father may 
be glorified."^ Second, "That your joy may 
be full."^ And what can glorify God and 
give happiness to individuals, homes, and 
churches more than a revival of religion? 

When Alfred the Great of England an- 
nounced that the country needed "not only 
good warmen, and good workmen, but also 
good prayermen,'' he uttered a truth for this 
day in religious circles as well as the polit- 



iPs. 66:18. »Isa. 1:15. 3James4:3. ■•James 1:6, 7. ^John 
14:13. «Johnl6:24. 

110 



CONDITIONS 

ical economy of his times. Prayer, — more 
prayer, — more earnest prayer, is the need of 
the hour. Prayer that will show up our- 
selves and influence God to show Himself. 

This prayer for a revival should be spe- 
cific, that Christians be revivified and souls 
converted. Particularization is better than 
generalization. Affect the center, and the 
whole circumference is affected. Paul said, 
"My heart's desire and prayer to God for 
Israel is, that they might be saved."^ But 
wherever Paul was, he labored to convert, 
and indoctrinate those who were already 
converted. Said the superintendent of the 
Inebriate Asylum at Binghampton, New 
York. "Some men are sent here under com- 
pulsion, almost driven by their friends ; and 
no such man is ever cured. No man ever 
has gone from this asylum cured of his in- 
ebriety, unless there was some one — a sister, 
a mother, a wife, a maiden, who prayed for 
him, hoped for him, and wept for him at 
home.'' And it is doubtful if ever a soul was 
born into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, an 
indifferent Christian awakened to his con- 

'Rom. 10:1. 

Ill 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

dition, a church revived, or a community 
moved by the power of God, but for the spe- 
cific prayer of one or more individuals. 

A true prayerful spirit for a revival will 
doubtless burden the heart for the welfare of 
the church and produce agony for the sal- 
vation of the lost. Bishop Hopkins used to 
say, "If the arrow of prayer is to enter heav- 
en, we must draw it from a soul full bent/' 
John Knox knew what this meant when he 
cried, "Give me Scotland, or I die!'' and 
George Whitefield, "Give me souls or take 
my soul!" and Brainerd, when he said: "I 
spent the whole evening in prayer. What I 
passed through can never be expressed in 
human language." Such is the prevailing 
prayer. Paul speaks of it as "travailing in 
birth,"^ and Isaiah said, "As soon as Zion 
travailed she brought forth her children."- 
Let the church, yea, let us who profess to 
love Christ, cultivate this fervency in prayer 
and we shall behold the mighty power of 
God in "reviving the hearts of the contrite 
ones,"^ and "baring his arms to save." 

»Gal. 5:19. ^Isa. 66:8. 'Isa. 57: 15. 
112 



CONDITIONS 

"Hath lengthened watching wearied thee ? 
And have thy prayers availed thee not ? 
Wait thou His time, and thou shalt see 
Thou art not by thy Lord forgot." 

A second condition of a revival so fre- 
ciuently indulged and urged in the Bible is 

Fasting. 

That a revival may not be without fasting 
would be as exaggerated an expression as to 
declare true faith is not without groans. It 
is only the agonized heart that approximates 
to the Christ when "he groaned in the Spir- 
it."^ To fast is literally "to abstain/' from 
abstinence of food. It has been perverted by 
ascetics on the one hand, and by the Phar- 
isees on the other; but, if properly used as 
a religious exercise, it is an evidence of in- 
tense conviction of sin, an expression of 
sorrow, an act of contrition, a deep abase- 
ment of self and an appeal to Jehovah for 
help. 

It is true that nowhere in the Bible is it 
prescribed in its literal form, but "its spirit 
and principle is strongly insisted upon." If 
not ordained by God, it has received His di- 

'Johnll:33. 

8 113 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

vine approval from the time when Moses 
was "forty days and forty nights with the 
Lord in the mountain, and did neither eat, 
nor drink water.'^^ The Mosaic law set 
apart the tenth day of the seventh month,^ 
Tishri, called the "Day of the Atonement,'^ 
for this purpose. Because of transgression, 
Israel "gathered together to Mizpah, and 
drew water, and poured it out before the 
Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, 
We have sinned against the Lord.'^^ Jehoi- 
akim "proclaimed a fast before the Lord to 
all the people in Jerusalem/'^ David "be- 
sought God for the child, and David fasted, 
and went in, and lay all night upon the 
earth.''^ When Daniel sought knowledge of 
God, he spent three weeks in which he said : 
"I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh 
nor wine in my mouth."^ The people of 
Nineveh fasted and prayed, thus success- 
fully averting God's threatened judgments. 
Jesus fasted forty days immediately after 
He was filled with the Holy Ghost, and went 
on record as recommendini? it. "When thou 



>Ex.34:28. 'I. Sam. 7:6. 3Jer.36:9. *II. Sam. 12: 16. »Dan. 
10:3. 

114 



CONDITIONS 

fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face ; 
that thou appear not unto men to fast, but 
unto thy Father which is in secret : and thy 
Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward 
thee openly."^ It was when the church at 
Antioch fasted, that the Holy Ghost said: 
^'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
work whereunto I have called them/'^ 

Fasting is an irksome, uncongenial "prac- 
tice to that form of piety which consists 
wholly in good emotions and serious impres- 
sions" ; but a means of virtue if properly in- 
dulged. It is that discipline, that corrective 
of certain classes of sins "to which anything 
approaching to soft and luxurious living 
would act as a direct incentive and stim- 
ulant.'^ By it the body is reduced to a con- 
dition of slavery. He who indulged in 
"fastings often"^ said: "I keep under my 
body and bring it into subjection."^ Why? 
Because, as Vinet said, "It restores to mind 
what it takes away from matter." The con- 
sensus of reputable physicians is to this 
effect. Rich foods breed disease, and glut- 
tony clogs the mental faculties. Gour- 

» Matt. 6 : 7, 18. « Acts 13 : 2, 3. ^ II. Cor. 11 : 27. * I. Cor. 9 : 27. 
115 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

mands seldom, if ever, distinguish them- 
selves in science, art, literature, or religion. 
The men who have reached the profoundest 
depths in philosophy, the highest flights in 
poetry, the greatest influence with God and 
men, have been abstemious. They fasted, 
rather than feasted, and "No man," said 
Thomas Jefferson, "ever regretted eating 
too little," whereas many have killed them- 
selves by eating too much. 

Though seldom indulged, yet fasting is 
very conducive to a successful revival. 
Would to God we had Joel to cry : "Blow 
the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a 
solemn assembly."^ When Jesus came 
down from the mount. He upbraided His 
disciples for unbelief in not being able to 
cast out a foaming devil, saying: "How- 
beit this kind goeth not out but by fasting 
and prayer."^ In that beautiful work, 
"With Christ," by Andrew Murray, he tells 
how Blumhardt, in his terrible conflict with 
the evil spirits in those who were possessed, 
sought to cast them out by prayer, but won- 
dered why the answer was hindered. He 

>Joel2:15. "Matt. 17:21. 

116 



CONDITIONS 

was advised bj a friend to fast. This he did 
sometimes for more than thirty hours, with 
blessed results, having greater ease in 
speech and a strong influence over the afflict- 
ed without being present. He says, "It 
strengthens the intensity and power of the 
prayer, and becomes the unceasing practical 
expression of a prayer without words." 

Should we fast in the interest of a revi- 
val? We are not so enjoined in the New 
Testament, nor is it mentioned as an essen- 
tial part of worship. But, if it proves a 
means of self-abnegation, thereby "afflicting 
our souls"^ before God, giving a tangible 
hold upon Him and on our fellow-men, 
should we not fast? Neander said the prim- 
itive Christians not only possessed but exer- 
cised this means of virtue. Martin Luther 
confessed to his need of it, and nobly acted 
it out, being used exceptionally of God. 
Wesley said, "It was as impossible to live 
for God aright without fasting as without 
prayer." Edward Payson, of Portland, had 
one day out of each quarter set apart by his 
church for this means of grace. He declared 

1 Lev. 16:17,31. 

117 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

he found no means so blessed to keep relig- 
ion alive among them. Brainerd, the first 
missionary to the Indians, is recorded by 
Jonathan Edwards to have observed fre- 
quent days of fasting and prayer, and never 
without special benefit. Jacob Knapp, of 
whom it was said that more than one hun- 
dred thousand souls were baptized under his 
labors, confessed that his most powerful 
work was when he spent whole days in fast- 
ing and prayer with the churches. Mr. 
Moody states that the revival of 1872 in 
London, when crowds sought Christ and 
four hundred united with one church alone, 
was brought about by a bed-ridden member 
of the church. Being unable to do anything 
she gave herself to prayer and fasting. 
When they brought dinner, she said, "No, I 
am going to fast." 

O my reader, would you have God^s work 
revived in your heart and that of others? 
Then try it. Not as Doctor Tanner, who 
fasted for forty days, or Leonard Thress, for 
Mtj days, or Milton Rathburn, for thirty- 
six days, nor as an act of formalism which 



lis 



CONDITIONS 

distinguishes ascetics and ritualists, but 
that you may learn your weakness, behold 
your sinfulness, feel your unworthiness, that 
with every craving appetite you may pray 
for the infilling of the Spirit, to be and to do 
the work God has designed for you. Try it, 
and God will not disappoint you in giving 
you a revelation of His love, an enduement 
of His power, and an influence that will con- 
strain Christians to be better and arrest sin- 
ners in their course. 

The third condition of a revival is 

Consecration. 
From God's command to Moses to conse- 
crate Aaron to the priesthood to Paul's dec- 
laration that Christ "is consecrated for ever- 
more," this doctrine stands out prominently 
in God's Word as one of the necessary things 
in the production of a revival. In the Old 
Testament several Hebrew words are used 
to denote its importance: Nazar, to sepa- 
rate; nezer, separated; as applied to the 
Nazarite when he was to keep himself aloof 
from intoxicants and anything which would 



119 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

pollute. Kiddashy to sanctify ; kodesh, sanc- 
tification, as applied to things dedicated to 
God. Milla yad, which is the commonest 
and only characteristic expression for con- 
secrate, with millu un, "consecrations/' 
which means to "fill the hand." It is a word 
used for the devotion of anything to God's 
worship and service, but in the present con- 
nection we should scratch out anything and 
substitute the word everything, as the youth 
who said to Socrates, after other pupils had 
given gold, silver, and jewels worthy of the 
rank of the donor, "0 Socrates, I give my- 
self to thee." 

Consecration means the giving of the 
whole person, with all its conditions, rela- 
tions, and possibilities, the moral and affec- 
tional powers as represented by the heart, 
the mental as represented by the mind, will, 
and conscience, and the active as represent- 
ed by service and gifts. "I give Thee all, 
and keep back nothing," w^as the motto of 
Calvin's seal on the hand holding a heart on 
fire. True consecration is a rare thing, the 
form, very common. It is easy to sing, 



120 



CONDITIONS 

^^ere I give my all to Thee, 

Friends and time and earthly store ; 
Soul and body Thine to be, 
Only Thine for evermore ; 

but actually to do it, costs. 

When men enlisted for battle in Rome, 
they were obliged to take the '^sacramen- 
tum/' or oath to live and die, if necessary, 
for her interests. It was usually given to 
groups of a hundred, and when read, the 
man standing next to the officer would lift 
his hand and say, "That 's for me," and then 
the next, and so on, until one hundred hands 
were lifted and one hundred voices declared 
it was for them. 

Consecration is demanded of all of us, and 
scores frequently declare during the enthu- 
siasm of special services, "That 's for me,'^ 
and after publicly humbling themselves be- 
fore God, go forth to demonstrate that "un- 
conditional surrender" has not entered into 
their lives. There is related in the book, 
"The Czar," a story of a Russian officer, 
taken prisoner by the French. They got an 
iron and branded him on the hand with an 
"N." When he asked what it meant, they 

121 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

said, "It means that jou now belong, body 
and soul, to our Emperor Napoleon." The 
soldier, seizing an ax, severed his hand from 
the wrist, and said, "Take what belongs to 
you; I am for the Czar, and belong wholly 
to him.'' Whether fact or fiction, it shows 
what entire consecration means, and the 
Ivind of whole-souled loyalty Jesus claims 
for Himself. Of her consecration hymn, 

"Take my life and let it be 
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee," 

Frances Ridley Havergal wrote: "I went 
for a little visit to Ardsley House. There 
were ten persons in the house, some uncon- 
verted and long prayed for, and some con- 
verted but not rejoicing Christians. He 
gave me the prayer, ^Lord, give me all in this 
house,' and He did. The last night, I was 
too happy to sleep, and, passing most of the 
night in praise and renewal of my own con- 
secration, these little couplets formed them- 
selves and chimed in my heart one after 
another, till they gushed with ^Ever, only, 
all for Thee.' " 

All what? Read that hymn, note the con- 



122 



CONDITIONS 

secration, and there will be no need to ask 
the secret of her power and influence. 
Hands, feet, voice, lips, money, moments, 
intellect, will, heart, love, until she epito- 
mizes the whole in the sublime climax, 

"Take myself, and I will be 
Ever, only, all for Thee." 

O my reader, the w^ords of David come 
ringing down the centuries, "Who then is 
willing to consecrate his service this day 
unto the Lord?''^ And those of Paul, to pre- 
sent our "bodies a living sacrifice"^ to God. 
We want revivals, and consecrated living is 
part of the sanctified machinery that brings 
it about. Orange trees planted in Labrador 
will not bear, or tube-roses bloom in snow- 
banks, no more than a frivolous, worldly, 
nominal Christian can bring about a revival. 
But let one give himself unreservedly to 
God, and out of his life "shall flow rivers of 
living water.''^ 

O child of God, in the words of Henry 
Varley to Moody at Willow Park, Dublin, 
in 1872, which by the Spirit of the Most 
High caused him to get near God, "The 

a. Chron. 29:5. «Rom. 12:1. 3John7:38. 
123 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

world has yet to see what God will do with 
a man fully consecrated to Him." Can you 
not, will you not pray as Livingstone, who 
wrote in his journal on his birthday, March 
19, 1872 : "My Jesus, my King, my Life, my 
All, I again dedicate my whole self to Thee. 
Accept me, and grant — that I may finish my 
task. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen." 

"My Jesus, as Thou wilt ! 

Oh, may Thy will be mine ! 
Into Thy hand of love 

I would my all resign ; 
Through sorrow, or through joy, 

Conduct me as Thine own. 
And help me still to say, 

Hy Lord, Thy will be done V* 



124 



ESSENTIALS 



CHAPTER VI. 

(£00mtial0 to a l&ebftial 

Erroneous the idea that a revival is easily 
secured or produced. Great achievements 
are the result of great cost. When stress 
is laid upon the fact that it means much 
to be and to live the life of a Christian ; and 
that it demands a consistency of life in 
obedience to the demands of Christ to bring 
about a revival by which souls will be born 
into the kingdom, then will an evangelistic 
effort and the spirit of evangelism be appre- 
ciated. Few of us are worthy of the eulogy 
found on the obelisk of Henry Martyn, near 
the village of Tokat, Persia : "One who was 
known as a man of God." Alas, our experi- 
ences show how frequently we have wan- 
dered, become indifferent, and careless, so 
that in soul quietness we have sadly ex- 
claimed : 



125 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

"The peaceful hours I then enjoyed. 
How sweet their memory still, 
But they have left an aching void 
The world can never fill." 

Not only must there be a proper prepara- 
tion and compliance with certain conditions, 
but there are essentials without which no 
work of grace can be wrought. An essential 
is defined as that which is necessary to the 
essence, constitution, or existence of any- 
thing. It is something important in the 
highest degree, as the juice of the seed is an 
essential oil designed by nature to preserve 
that seed from corruption ; as air is essential 
for a balloon to rise, oil to make a lamp 
burn, and steam to move an engine. "The 
gospel of Christ,"^ is an essential to "the 
power of God unto salvation.'^ Repentance 
is essential to faith in God, and forgiveness 
is essential to peace in God. These things, 
human and Divine, are absolutely necessary 
to a revival. Speaking of the gospel, Paul 
declares : 

^^For though I preach the gospel^ I have 
nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid 

J Rom. 1:16. 

126 



ESSENTIALS 

upon me; yea, ivoe is unto me, if I preach 
not the gospeU^^ 

On this blessed word euaggelion — gospel 
— which is used some eighty times in the 
New Testament, every phase of a revival 
depends. More than seventy times is the 
word euaggelize — to evangelize — used. We, 
like Christ, must announce the good news 
to men. "Oh, were I free from obligations 
to Tremont Temple," said the late George 
C. Lorimer, "I would start around this 
globe, to the men and women yet in sin and 
darkness, to evangelize, to tell them of 
Christ." In Lord Tennyson's Memoir is re- 
lated, how, when visiting some humble 
friends of earlier years in the country, he 
asked an old woman concerning the news. 
Her answer was, "Why, Mr. Tennyson, there 
is only one piece of news that I know, that 
Christ died for all men," Tennyson replied, 
"That is old news, and good news, and new 
news." 

In this work of revivals there is much said 
which has been said before. All, however, is 
intended to be good and to do good, but 

»I. Cor. 9: 16. 

127 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

there are some thoughts which are doubtless 
new, and which have rarely been emphasized 
in this connection. Like Paul, "necessity 
has been laid upon'- the author to write in 
this strain, and here to declare that the first 
essential to a revival is 

Money. 

With many this may be a new idea, but it 
is biblical. Selfishness in retaining, and 
stinginess in giving, often debar the Holy 
Spirit from reviving. He who gives not, yea, 
who tithes not, robs God. Malachi asks the 
burning question, "Will a man rob God?'' 
and then answers it in the affirmative, "In 
tithes and offerings." 

Desirous of obtaining a revival, He im- 
jjarts the secret, "Bring ye all the tithes into 
the storehouse — and prove me now herewith, 
saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open 
you the windows of heaven, and pour you 
out a blessing that there shall not be room to 
receive it."^ It is "Give, and it shall be 
given unto you; good measure, pressed 



> Mai. 3:10. 

128 



ESSENTIALS 

down, and shaken together, and running 
over."^ 

Our money belongs to God, and when re- 
quired to further the interests of His king- 
dom, it should not be withheld. We are His 
trustees, not beneficiaries. Stewards, to in- 
crease, but having no more right to use it 
for selfish ends than the executor in whose 
care has been placed the funds of an estate. 

Few are the stories more fascinating than 
that of Ben Hur, who trusted his wealth to 
his steward and left his family in Jerusalem 
to go abroad. In crossing the ocean he was 
thought to be drowned. As the son was lean- 
ing over the parapet of the house, watching 
the Koman soldiers pass, he accidentally 
knocked off a loose brick, which the officer 
Interpreted as a deliberate attempt to kill 
him. Because of this the son was sent to the 
galleys, the mother and daughter impris- 
oned. One day the steward came to Jerusa- 
lem, in search of the family, and was arrest- 
ed, and was tortured by the Roman officers 
to make him surrender his master's prop- 
erty. But no punishment could cause him 

iLuke6:38. 

9 129 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

to break his trust. Later, he was again 
seized, and nearly every bone in his body 
was broken by the rack; still not a penny 
would he give. Time passed, and he became 
the richest man in the empire. Though con- 
fined and wheeled about in a chair, the keen 
intellect was sufficient to grasp good invest- 
ments. One day Ben Hur returned, and, 
standing in his presence, asked for his own. 
The steward questioned him, and was satis- 
fied with his identity. From the safe he 
brought the money. "Your one hundred and 
twenty talents have become six hundred and 
thirty-seven. You are the richest man in the 
Roman Empire. It is all yours.'' 

Here is a stewardship such as the Al- 
mighty desires. Earning and increasing 
legitimately what we have, yet with divine 
fidelity holding and using it for the Master's 
interest. Swift once wrote to Bolingbroke 
"that a wise man ought to have money in his 
head, but not in his heart." When in the 
heart, the affections cluster around it. 
That is why "the love of money is the root 
of all evil."^ Chester Kingsley used to pray, 

»L Tim. 6:10. 

130 



ESSENTIALS 

^^tord, give me a hand to get, and a heart to 
give." Wise is he who makes money hon- 
estly, keeps it in place, and uses it well. 
But sad the fact when only twelve million 
dollars are given for the world's evangeliza- 
tion, and three billion for liquor. Sad, when 
we think that the enlightened United States 
squanders four million on popular amuse- 
ments, twenty-five million for kid gloves, 
twenty million to adorn the head-dress of 
women, and less than six million to evan- 
gelize the land. Think a moment. It costs 
fifteen million to support the ministry, and, 
according to Chancellor James Day, of 
Syracuse University, twenty-five million for 
the pet dogs. At the Winona Assembly of 
1904, one prominent speaker declared that 
it cost four times more for chewing-gum 
than for all the missionary expense in the 
United States. It is a well-known fact that 
it costs four hundred million to run the 
jails, or eight times more in punishing crim- 
inals than the amount given in trying to 
save them. How true 



131 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

"If we want to save the millions 
Wlio are dying in their sin, 
^Freely give/ as God demanded, 
Then we will the ^nations win.' " 

Money is an important and indispensable 
factor in revivals. To give is to get. "Hon- 
or the Lord with thy substance and with the 
first fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy 
hams he filled with plenty^ and thy presses 
shall hurst out with new wine/^'^ To retain, 
is to lose. Among the Jews, the blasting 
and mildew never struck the grainfield until 
tbey first struck the treasury of the Lord. 
^'Empty missionary treasuries are not the 
result of hard times; they are the cause of 
liard times." Close-fisted Christians are the 
brakes to the wheels of the gospel chariot. 
As one is responsible for neglected talents, 
so is he for money hoarded when the cause 
of Christ needs and demands it. John Wes- 
ley believed in and practiced self-denial in 
giving. Immense sums passed through his 
bands, but he confined his expenses to the 
modest £35 ($185), limiting his wants that 
he might not cut down his gifts for God and 
His work. 

1 Pro V. 3:9, 10. 

132 



ESSENTIALS 

Finney, in speaking of some Christians, 
said: "They have not laid themselves out 
to promote the cause of Christ, and so the 
Spirit has been grieved and the blessing 
withdrawn, and, in some instances, a reac- 
tion has taken place, because the church 
would not be liberal, when God has been so 
bountiful — and so, for their niggardly spirit, 
God gave them up." 

Major Whittle, who was greatly used of 
God, was foreman in a large watch factory 
near Boston, with a salary of |5,000 a year. 
Said he, "The Lord gave me a desire to save 
souls. I could do no less than give up my 
position and salary." Save souls! Great 
aim of human effort, than which none is 
greater. For this purpose Christ gave all. 
Souls! Consider their worth compared to 
money. Love of souls is not gauged by dol- 
lars. Love for money will permit souls to 
perish. Oh, for a religion that touches the 
pocket-book — a religion which systematic- 
ally, cheerfully, and proportionally gives its 
means to God for the extension of Christ's 
kingdom in the world. 



133 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

^'He is dead whose Land is not opened wide 
To help the need of a human brother ; 
He doubles the length of his life-long ride 

Who gives his fortunate place to another ; 
And a thousand million lives are his 
Who carries the world in his sympathies. 
To give is to live !" 

A second essential to a revival is the right 
use of 

The Word. 

Nothing has been placed in the custody of 
man more necessary and indispensable to 
his own and others' welfare than the Word 
of God. When investigated and used for 
furthering the interests of Christ in the 
v/ork of a revival, it becomes a new book. 
With it, success; without it, failure. As a 
lock is moved by its key, so the mind of man 
is arrested and impelled by truth. Though 
cosmopolitan in its principles affecting "all 
nations,"^ yet it is directly personal. When 
Paton was printing his first book in the Ani- 
w^an language, a book composed mostly of 
scripture passages. Chief Namakei, an old 
man, eagerly watched him, coming morning 
after morning and inquiring, "Is it done? 
Can it speak?" Told at last that it was fin- 

» Matt. 28:19. 

134 



ESSENTIALS 

ished, and could talk, Namakei said, ^^Make 
it speak to me, teacher. Let me hear it 
speak." The missionary read a few lines, 
and the old man ecstatically shouted, "It 
does speak! It speaks my own language! 
Oh, give it to me !'' Grasping the book, he 
turned it round and round, pressed it to his 
bosom, then handed it back, pleading, "O 
teacher, make the book speak to me." 

The proof of the inspiration of the Word 
of God is that it inspires those who study it 
with a prayerful heart and holy zeal. Not 
till we can say, "How love I thy law,"^ can 
we have David^s experience, "How sweet are 
thy words unto my taste !"2 

One of the great needs of the day is to 
study the Word on the knees. It molds and 
shapes a Christlike character. Whitfield's 
success is said to have been due to this habit. 
Day by day, with "Henry's Commentary," 
he prayed over every word, line, and sen- 
tence. George Mueller, of orphanage fame, 
attributed the adoption of this method as 
marking an epoch in his experience. It is a 
table spread with good things, for "Man 

>Ps. 119:97. aps. 119:103. 

135 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

shall not live by bread alone, but by everj 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of 
God."^ By it we experience that delightful 
sanctification, or devotion of talents or life, 
to a holy service. ^^Sanctify them through 
thy truth : thy word is truth."^ Through it 
we secure access to the family of God, for 
the "law of the Lord is perfect, converting 
the soul,"^ and we are "born again, not of 
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the 
Word of God."4 Faithful use of the Word, 
whether public or personal, is assured suc- 
cess, for "he is faithful that promised/^^ 
"Words," said Emerson, "are battles,'^ but 
the W^ord gives not only battle, but brings 
victory. "He that hath my word,'' said God, 
"let him speak my word faithfully."^ For 
back of the decree is the One Avho has de- 
clared, "The rain cometh down, and the 
snow from heaven, and returneth not thith- 
er, but watereth the earth, and maketh it 
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to 
the sower, and bread to the eater ; so shall 
my word be that goeth forth out of my 

'Matt. 4:4. = John 17:17. ^pg. 19.7. ^I. Pet. 1;23. »Heb. 
10:23. «Jer. 23:28. 

136 



ESSENTIALS 

mouth : it shall not return unto me void ; but 
it shall accomplish that which I please, and 
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent 
it.'-'i 

Without the Word of God a revival can- 
not be. There may be enthusiasm and excite- 
ment, by which people may be visibly af- 
fected, but they are blank cartridges. To 
wound and kill, God's Word must be used. 
It is the hammer to break the stony heart, 
the "sword of the Spirit,"- to cut the con- 
science, and the "engrafted Word which is 
able to save tJie soiiV'^ 

Some years ago a revival was in progress 
in an English town. Night after night the 
people gathered in crowds, enthusiasm was 
great, and people shouted for joy. The rec- 
tor, a very ritualistic man, was constrained 
to visit the place. As the service drew to its 
close, he arose and said : "Friends, this is 
all wrong; let everything be done decently 
and in order. Such excitement is unseemly 
in religious matters. The temple was 
builded without the sound of hammer or 
saw." The evangelist at this juncture broke 

'Isa. 56:10, 11. 'Eph. 6:17. 3Jamesl:21. 
137 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

in: "Bless the Lord! We ain't building; 
we 're blasting." But blasting is not brought 
about by words, but the Word. There was 
a great deal of excitement, noise, and con- 
fusion on the Mediterranean ship, but no 
revival. Then Paul stood forth and told 
liow God had spoken and what He would do. 
The key-note of a revival was struck when 
he emphasized the fact, "I believe God, that 
it shall be even as it was told me.''^ At Pen- 
tecost Peter preached with power^ because 
his sermon was founded on the fulfillment 
of "that which was spoken by the prophet 
Joel."^ Philip "began at the same scripture 
and preached Jesus"^ unto the eunuch. Cor- 
nelius heard the apostle say, "The word 
which God sent unto the children of Israel, 
preaching peace by Jesus Christ,"^ before 
he gave his heart to God. Paul exhorted 
Timothy, "Preach the word,"^ and to Titus, 
"Holding fast the faithful word as he hath 
been taught, that he may be able by sound 
doctrine both to exhort and to convince the 
gainsayers."^ It is easy to stir up the froth 

» Acts 27:25. 2Acts2:16. =»Acts8:35. *ActslO:36. slI.Tim. 
4:2. «Titusl:9. 

138 



ESSENTIALS 

of factitious feeling by enthusiasm pathetic 
and funny, but it is the Word that cuts and 
breaks the stubborn hearts. 

The great revivals under Peter of Bruys 
and Henry of Lausanne during the twelfth 
and thirteenth centuries were through the 
preaching of the truth. The success of 
Peter Waldo, the father of the Waldenses, 
was through the Scriptures, with which he 
was very familiar, and which he proclaimed 
in village and city. The great revival in- 
augurated by Wyclif in England in the 
fourteenth century was a revival of preach- 
ing God's Word. Wyclif not only translated 
the Scriptures into the language of the com- 
mon people, but preached them to the 
people in the most vigorous fashion. "He 
held the Bible in solution," was said of 
Chalmers. This might be said of Bunyan, 
Baxter, Flavel, Edwards, Finney, Moody, 
and all others who are instrumental in 
God's hand in producing a revival that leads 
to the conversion of souls. 

We need a revival of systematic Bible 
study and the Bible expounded more in 



139 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

home and evangelistic services. Not my 
theory, but ^^thus saith the Lord.'' Oh, for 
an awakening of interest in the Holy Scrip- 
tures. Have you not observed how frequent- 
ly it is recorded in the Acts, "And the word 
of God grew and multiplied"?^ Who ever 
heard of a word growing? McCheyne, driven 
into an engine house by a storm, pointed to 
the fire in the furnace and said to the en- 
gineer, "What does that remind you of?" 
That word and object-lesson grew until the 
Spirit of God changed the man. An earnest 
student of God's Word cannot help growing 
pious, nor can he help seeking to make 
others likewise. A church that feeds on 
God's Word will be enlightened, quickened 
in thought and heart, and will have an irre- 
sistible power that indoctrinates saints and 
leads sinners to repentance. Oh, that the 
church could have the experience of Paul 
and Barnabas at Antioch. They could if 
they would. There we read : "The next Sab- 
bath day came almost the whole city to- 
gether to hear the word of God. When the 
Gentiles heard this they were glad, and 

»Actsl2:24. 

140 



ESSENTIALS 

glorified the word of the Lord. And the 
word of the Lord was published throughout 
all the region."^ Faithful study of the 
Word, and the preaching of the same, will 
cause others like Lydia to attend unto the 
Word. 

" 'T is here the tree of knowledge grows, 
And yields a free repast ; 
Here purer sweets than nature knows. 
Invite the longing tastes. 

" 'T is here the Savior's welcome voice 
Spreads heavenly peace around, 
And life and everlasting joys 
Attend the blissful sound." 

A third essential to a revival is 



The Holy Spirit. 
The Holy Spirit is the primary and deter- 
mining factor in the production of a revival. 
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."^ He it is 
that produces conviction of sin and contri- 
tion for it both in the believer and unbe- 
liever, breathing life into the latter and 
breathing power for service upon the for- 
mer. No professor of religion can be re- 

» Acts 13 : 44, 48, 49. » Zech. 4 : 6. 
141 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

vived or be the means of aiding in the pro- 
duction of a revival unless he firmly incor- 
porates in his creed Credo Spiritum Sanc- 
tum — I believe in the Holy Spirit. 

The offices of the Holy Spirit are many, 
most of which are more noticeable in a revi- 
val than in anything else. One need not go 
out of the Gospel of John to prove this. What 
message shall be given? He is "the Spirit 
of truth. He will guide you into all truth. ''^ 
Sinners must be startled and moved. He 
will "reprove the world of sin, and of right- 
eousness, and of judgment."- Unregenerate 
souls need life. They must "be born of the 
Spirit/'^ for though Christ died for their 
redemption, "it is the Spirit that quicken- 
eth."^ Confession of Christ is necessary to 
growth. "The Spirit of truth which pro- 
ceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of 
me, and ye shall bear witness."^ Being a 
Christian and one who acknowledges the 
saving and keeping power of Christ, he is 
to be through the Holy Spirit a benefit to 
those with whom he comes in contact. "Out 

»Johnl6:13. ^JohnlGiS. 'John 3: 8. *John6:63. Molni 
15: 26, 27. 

142 



ESSENTIALS 

of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 
This spake he of the Spirit which they that 
believe on him [Jesus] should receive.'-^ 

The Holy Spirit is not imparted as a de- 
posit to be carefully appropriated and 
economically invested. He is not only an 
in-filling, but an out-flowing Spirit. Like 
Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates, 
which emerged from the river of Eden, so 
the Holy Spirit as the living stream flows 
from the heart through various channels. 
In fact, how significant this symbol. Pison 
means "overflowing''; Gihon, "breaking 
forth''; Hiddekel, "velocity"; Euphrates, 
"sweet waters." So the revived soul, like 
David's cup, overflows and fertilizes other 
hearts. It cannot be restrained, but breaks 
down barriers, removes obstructions, and 
with haste carries the sweet tidings of a 
Savior's love to those "in the gall of bitter- 
ness, and in the bond of iniquity."^ 

The Holy Spirit operates according to a 
principle and in the line of a purpose. The 
principle is the glorification of Jesus. "He 
shall glorify me,"^ saith Christ. We thus 

»John7:38, 39. 'Acts 8: 23. 3johnl6:4. 
H3 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

learn the reason why the Holy Spirit con- 
Yicts, converts, instructs, infills, empowers, 
and makes ^'intercession for us Avith groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered."^ The purpose 
is the great end God is fulfilling dur- 
ing this age — the forming and gathering of 
people who will be ready to receive the com- 
ing King, "changed into the same image,''^ 
and given "the earnest,'' arrahoiiy pledge, 
"of the Spirit,"^ eternal life, "which is the 
earnest of our inheritance, until the re- 
demption of the purchased possession.''^ 

The Holy Spirit in the production and 
perfection of a revival works through the 
Avord in the Christian. While He is inde- 
pendent of, yet He works through the be- 
liever who recognizes his dependency upon 
Him. "If I go not away,"^ said Jesus, "the 
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I 
depart I will send him unto you. And when 
he is come he will reprove the world of sin." 
It is thus evident that the Holy Spirit works 
through human form and speech, who in 
the spirit of grace and supplication pleads 

»Rom.8:26. 'II. Cor. 3: 18. 3lI.Cor.5:5. «Eph.l:I4. ^Jobn 
16:7,8. 

144 



ESSENTIALS 

with God and who wields ''the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the Word of God/'^ for 
God. The one hundred and twenty disci- 
ples in the upper room were specially set 
apart and used by the Holy Spirit to reach 
the multitudes which had gathered in Je- 
rusalem. Philip was sent to the Ethiopian 
prince, Ananias to Saul, Peter to Cornelius, 
Barnabas and Saul to Sergius, Paul to 
Lydia, and we, with the unequaled message 
of God^s love, are sent to others. 

Oh, the blessed office of the Holy Spirit 
and the medium through which He works! 
He who came upon ''or clothed Gideon"^ 
will come upon and clothe us if we "walk 
worthy of the vocation wherewith we are 
called,"^ He might, but He will not operate 
through a character who allows himself to 
come into too familiar contact with the un- 
holy spirit of the world. In explaining the 
reason for the failure of the first trans- 
Atlantic cable, Peter Cooper said: "In 
passing it into the vat manufactured for it, 
where it was intended to lie under water, 
the workmen neglected to keep it immersed, 

>Bph. 6:17. 'Judg. 6:34. ^Eph. 4:1. 
!• 145 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

and on one occasion wlien the sun shone 
very hot down into the vat, its rays melted 
the gutta-percha, so that the copper wire 
inside sank against the covering.'' One 
must "walk after the Spirit/'^ be "led by the 
Spirit/'^ if he would "pray with the Spirit/'^ 
know "the love of the Spirit/'^ and be used 
by the Spirit in bringing sinners to Christ. 

Probably the greatest heat known is that 
of the electric furnaces at Niagara Falls. 
There are the carbon and the coils, but not 
a particle of heat comes from them. But 
let the powerful currents of electricity gen- 
erated at the Falls pass through them and 
what a degree of heat ! Enough to duplicate 
the sparkling gems formed in the fiery geo- 
logical ages. We are but carbon and coils, 
but once the Holy Spirit takes hold of us 
what marvelous results may be brought to 
pass. "Give me fire enough," said Bernard 
Palissy, "and these pigments will become 
indelibly fixed upon this china." His de- 
risive neighbors screamed, "He is mad!" 
"More fire!" shouted the determined man. 
The Spirit of God is assumed to be a fire, 

>Rom.8:l. * Rom. 8: 14. 'I. Cor. 14: 15. *Rom.l5:30. 
146 



ESSENTIALS 

hence Paul exhorts, "Quench not," or ex- 
tinguish not, "the Holj^ Spirit."^ It is this 
Spirit of fire we need. 

"Thou must be true thyself, 

If thou the truth wouldst teach; 

Thy soul must overflow, if thou 
Another's soul wouldst reach; 

It needs the overflow of heart 
To give the lips full speech." 

The "Aeolian harp," fabled among the 
Greeks as god of the winds, was supposed 
to be made by stretching cords of various 
lengths and qualities across a natural cav- 
ern, so that when the winds blew the great 
harp would give out its melody. So with the 
lives of God's saints. Though differing in 
native power, ability, and quality, each may 
have a share, as the Holy Spirit moving 
upon each makes all vibrate with the spirit- 
ual impulses of heaven. 

"We are but organs mute, till the Master touches the 
keys. 
Very vessels of earth, into which God poureth 
the wine ; 
Harps are we, silent harps, that have hung in the 
willow trees. 
Dumb till our heart-strings swell and break with 
a pulse divine." 

»I.Th ess. 5:19. 

147 



EQUIPMENT 



CHAPTER VII. 

Cfquipttunt tot a Kebibal 

Every beneficent work is the result of a 
thinking instrumentality. Back of ma- 
chinery is the power of being. God alone 
created something out of nothing. Factory 
walls will not produce cloth without looms, 
and looms are useless only as they have an 
equipment of necessary threads and as they 
are supplied with a power that sets all in 
operation. "Wanted" is the announcement 
which adorns certain columns in our daily 
periodicals. Men for the army and navy, 
masons and bricklayers, stenographers and 
clerks wanted. But if the aspirant to serve 
the Government has not the proper measure- 
ment demanded, or the stenographer little 
knowledge of shorthand or typewriting, or 
the clerk few ideas of figures or weights, is 
he wanted? Common sense teaches the need 
of equipment to fill any position. 

149 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Wanted, saints to save! For nearly two 
thousand years God has been commanding, 
urging, entreating, and encouraging Chris- 
tians to take hold, not nominal Christians, 
people who have simply joined a church, 
but Christians like the Christ, interested in 
the eternal welfare of others. Nearly two 
thousand years ago the prince of apostles 
stood in the beautiful historic city of 
Ephesus, where a heartless, senseless, and 
useless worship clustered around the pagan 
mercy-seat of Diana's temple. Here he 
found a few believers in Christ. To them 
he propounded a question which resulted in 
a work more historic than the third general 
council of the Christian church, held there 
in three hundred and forty-one; more than 
the fire of magic books worth ten thousand 
^dollars ; a question that need be propounded 
to every Christian on earth, a question of a 

"... Living fire 
Which shone so bright in saints of old, 
Which bade their souls to heaven aspire, 
Calm in distress, in danger bold." 

''Have ye received the Holy Ghost since 
ye believed f'^^ 

» Acts 19:2. 

150 



EQUIPMENT 

Great question, is it not? Greater than 
the one with which Demosthenes began his 
speech on the crown, or Cicero his oration 
against Cataline. It is infinitely great. Ye 
ministers of the church, why not propound it 
from the pulpit ? Ye members of the ordina- 
tion counsels, why not ask it of the candi- 
date? Ye leaders of the devotional services, 
why not suggest it at every meeting? Ye 
disciples of the humble Christ, w^hy not in- 
terrogate yourselves? Have ye felt the life- 
breath of Him breathed upon you that 

"Creates anew the carnal mind, 
And forms the man afresh ?" 

The Holy Ghost ! Name sublime ! Well 
might blasphemous lips hesitate to lisp it. 
It is holy, while the character it designates 
is as divinely sensitive as divinely benefi- 
cent. Contemplate, O shiftless soul, this 
Personage, coequal, coeternal with God, 
who is first introduced to us as moving 
"upon the face of the waters."^ Of whom 
David, after insulting, prayed, "Take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me,"^ and without 
w^hich no baptismal formula is complete, or 

1 Gen. 1:2. *Ps. 51:11. 

151 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

life guided into truth, whereby one can tes- 
tify to His glory. 

The Holy Ghost! What will He do for 
us? Better ask, What will He not do? Of 
the three persons in the Godhead, the Holy 
Ghost occupies the largest number of of- 
fices. Without Him no reproving "the world 
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment,''^ no new birth, no comforter in sor- 
row, no teacher in ignorance, no assistant in 
infirmities, no coming in close touch with 
Christ, for He it is, said Jesus, which "shall 
testify of me."^ 

Ole Bull was a great violinist. Only 
Paganini could make strings speak, sing, or 
sob like him. Beneath his magic bow heav- 
enly music or pathetic wails would emanate 
to scatter sunshine or break up the fountain 
of tears. When a boy he formed the ac- 
quaintance of John Ericsson, who became 
his equal in the science of engineering, and 
whose name will ever be associated with the 
iron-clad Monitor in American history. 
Ericsson emigrated to New York in 1839, 
and a few years later. Bull having traveled 

'John 16:8. 'John 15:26. 

152 



EQUIPMENT 

in many lands, came to the same city. One 
day they met, and after greetings the musi- 
cian said, "Come and hear me play to-night." 
The engineer refused. The invitation was 
again extended, but not accepted. The 
third invitation was given with this declara- 
tion, "If you don't come and hear me play 
I will come and play for you." But Ericsson 
said, "Don't bring your violin into my shop, 
for I do not care for music." The next day 
the musician called upon him and said, 
"John, there is something the matter with 
my violin," and they talked about tones and 
semitones and fibres of wood until Ole Bull 
remarked, "I will show you how it is," and 
he strung up the instrument and drew the 
bow across the strings, when in an instant 
the great factory was alive with music. 
Workmen paused in their labors and gath- 
ered about him. He played on, the waves 
of harmony filling the great building and 
pressing their way out into the streets, when 
suddenly he stopped, and John Ericsson, 
coming through the crowd with tears 
streaming down his cheek, said to his old 



153 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

friend, "Play on, Ole, play on ; I never knew 
what was lacking in my life before.'' 

The one thing lacking in many a Christian 
lieart, in many a Christian church, is the 
Holy Ghost. Guthrie says, "The want of 
one thing may make void the presence of all 
things else.'' Without the magic needle the 
ship is liable to drift to destruction, with- 
out the mainspring the works of a watch 
are useless, and without the Holy Ghost we 
are mere cyphers, mere sun-dials without 
gnomons, mere machines without a main- 
spring, having names to live and yet are 
dead. 

Is it any wonder revivals are not more 
common, more stirring, more lasting than 
they are? Is it any wonder husbands and 
wives, parents and children, are not con- 
verted or born stronger in the kingdom 
Avhen so many of God's professed children 
are like Jacob's thigh, "out of joint" ?i Tal- 
ents are good, machinery is needful, but all 
are useless without power. A fountain pen 
is of no use without one thing — ink. Gas- 
pipes and fixtures give no light only as they 

» Gen. 32:25. 

154 



EQUIPMENT 

Tiave a working connection with one thing — 
gas. The electric motor which whirls o'er 
the public highway as an up-to-date accom- 
modation for the public, without one thing 
— a current from the dynamo — is only an 
ornament. The locomotive with ponderous 
drive-wheels, ribs of steel, lungs of brass, 
well-sounding bell, and magnifying head- 
light becomes a helpless thing without one 
thing — steam. And no person is what God 
intended him to be, nor can he do what God 
intended him to do in the kingdom of grace, 
without the Holy Ghost. With Him, what 
an equipment for service! Without Him, 
what unfitness! Think ye not we should 
pray : 

"Holy Spirit, all divine, 

Dwell within this heart of mine ; 
Cast down every idol throne ; 

Reign supreme, and reign alone." 

How TO Know When One Has the Holy 
Ghost. 

Frequently the question arises how one 
may know when he is the recipient of the 
Holy Ghost. Sometimes it is hard to dis- 
tinguish whether a person is a Christian or 

155 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

not, but it is not hard to discover whether 
one has or has not the Holy Ghost. Per- 
sonally, the Christian knows. Jesus said 
to those who have Him, "He dwelleth with 
you and shall be in you.''^ Of whom Paul 
says, "He shall also quicken,''^ or make 
alive, "your mortal bodies by his Spirit that 
dwelleth in you," for "your body is the tem- 
ple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,''^ and 
"as many as are led by the Spirit of God, 
they are the sons of God."^ Is there a possi- 
bility for doubt of the residence of one who 
lives in the same house with us? Can there 
be any doubt when we know that a certain 
medicine is toning up the system, increasing 
vitality, and giving new life? Has not an 
intelligent person the knowledge whether 
he is following his own judgment or being 
led by some one else? If so, has not the 
Christian the same assurance as to whether 
the Holy Spirit dwells in and works through 
him? Certainly he has. 

This evidence was once beautifully illus- 
trated by the sainted Guthrie. One morn- 
ing he had an irresistible conviction that he 

'John 14: 17. 'Rom. 8:11. ^I. Cor. 6:19. *Rom.8:14. 
156 



EQUIPMENT 

must Yisit an aged lady, whose daughter 
was obliged to leave her alone while she 
earned their daily food in a flax mill. The 
old woman was paralyzed, unable to move 
hand or foot, yet she was a trusting, uncom- 
plaining daughter of the King, whose sweet 
patience had taught the great preacher many 
a lesson. He could not understand this im- 
pulse to go at this particular time, and espe- 
cially as other duties were claiming his at- 
tention. However, he started on his long 
walk. The air was medicine to his body and 
the scenery buoyed up his spirits. On the 
way down the lonely dell where stood her 
cottage, he met a friend with whom he had 
important business, but in the midst of their 
talk he broke off suddenly with a strange 
sensation that there must be no delay in the 
unknown errand on which he had been sent. 
He hastened on, and as he opened the door 
he found that the fire on the hearth had fal- 
len down in a burning mass and was flaming 
at the very feet of the poor, helpless woman, 
who in another moment would have been on 
fire. Her eyes were lifted toward heaven as 



351 



KEYIVAL THEEMOMETER 

if in supplication, and after the flames were 
extinguished, she said brokenly, "I knew the 
Lord would send somebody ; He never failed 
me yet.'^ It was prayer from the heart of 
one in need, and enlightenment and guid- 
ance on the part of the other through the 
Holy Spirit. Truly He's a 

"... Faithful Guide, 
Ever near the Christian's side. 



Ever present, truest friend, 
Ever near Thine aid to lend." 

Of others we may know if the Holy Ghost 
abides with them without an assertion on 
their part. Transposing a few words of an- 
other, the perfume of flowers is a better 
proof of odors than an argument in chem- 
istry, and the shining of the stars a better 
proof of their existence than the figures of 
an astronomer, and the restored health of 
patients a better argument of a physician's 
skill than certificates; so the evidences of 
the Holy Ghost are proofs which no human 
tongue dare gainsay. There will be a bap- 
tism "with the Holy Spirit and with fire."^ 

»Luke3:16. 

158 



EQUIPMENT 

Many of us have received water baptism^ 
which is a symbol of death and resurrection, 
but have we received that baptism which is 
"the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit 
of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord,"^ 

"The sealing unction from above, 
The breath of life, the fire of love." 

Concerning this baptism of fire one has 
beautifully said : "The three prominent at- 
tributes of fire are heat, light, and expan- 
sion. Each of these has multiplied forms 
of application in nature, for which there are 
corresponding truths in spiritual life. As 
God is a spiritual breath, of which air is a 
faint type, so God is a spiritual fire, of 
which created air is a faint shadow. ^Our 
God is a consuming fire.'^ He covers Him- 
self Sith light as with a garment.'^ He 
dwells 4n the light which no man can ap- 
proach unto.'^ Fire not only has a negative 
side of destroying combustibles, but a mar- 
velous positive side of penetrating heat, in- 
credible speed of motion, bright illumina- 

»l8a.n:2. »Heb. 12:29. "Ps. 1(M:2. *I. Tim. 6:16. 
159 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

tion, and gorgeous beauty and glorj. Grace 
also has a destructive side toward sin and a 
constructive side toward glorj. Anj Bible 
study on fire which notices only its destruc- 
tive or purifying agency, is partial. God de- 
signs through grace to make us like Himself 
flames of burning love. 'He maketh his 
ministers a flame of fire.'^ This means far 
more than cleansing from sin. It is a posi- 
tive enclothement of the Holy Spirit, so as 
to be a radiant, living fire, like unto God 
Himself." 

Oh, to be such fires! Say, dear strug- 
gling, weak child, don't you want such a 
baptism? Just now the Holy Spirit says 
you may have it. He waits your petition. 
Send it up, send it now : 

"Revive my drooping faith, 
My doubts and fears remoye. 
And kindle in my breast the flaim^ 
Of never-dying love." 

Those who have the Holy Ghost will also 
be known by others through their fruits. 
What a person does is a criterion of what 
he is. Jesus informs us, "A good tree can- 

' Heb. 1 : ?. 

160 



EQUIPMENT 

not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a cor- 
rupt tree bring forth good fruit, wherefore 
by their fruits,''^ not their profession or 
their church relation^ but "by their fruits 
ye shall know them." And in Galatians 
5 : 22, 23, Paul enumerates nine distinct 
kinds of fruit which spring from the Holy 
Ghost : "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, 
faith, meekness, temperance." Beautiful at- 
tributes of the divine Christ which should 
work "within outward," as Wayland Hoyt 
expresses it. Three are reflected back to 
God — love, joy, peace. Three are demon- 
strated toward others — longsuffering, kind- 
ness, goodness. Three are concentrated on 
self — faithfulness, meekness, temperance." 

Science has long sought in vain to find the 
vital principle of our bodies. It has laid 
bare every nerve, analyzed every organ, 
tested every fluid, separated every bunch of 
muscles, and then in failure confessed that 
all it worked upon was the mere mechanism 
in which and through which the invisible, 
presiding entity worked; and yet that en- 

1 Matt. 7:18. 
11 161 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

tity may be recognized, as Jackson said, "by 
a child's intellect, in the fire of the eye, the 
force of the arm, and the immediate cer- 
tainty with which action follows on the 
determination of the will/' So the Holy 
Spirit, though Himself invisible, is discern- 
ible by those fruits which distinguish 
humble. Spirit-filled Christians, aiding them 
in prayer and praise: 

"... All day long, and all the night. 
Lord, let Thy presence be 
Mine air, my breath, my shade, my light. 
Myself absorbed in Thee." ' 

Means of Procedure in Securing the 
Holy Ghost. 

An aspiration for the Holy Ghost is most 
lofty. In fact, only those who have such will 
He agree to visit, inhabit, and endue with 
power. Simon wanted Him for mercenary 
ends. He was willing to give a money 
consideration, but Peter said, "Thy money 
perish with thee, because thou hast thought 
that the gift of God may be purchased with 
money."^ There are ways and means, how- 
ever, whereby we may secure Him who is in 

»Acts8:20. 

162 



EQUIPMENT 

Hhe kingdom of God,"^ the Holy Ghost of 
"righteousness, and peace, and joy." 

It is only to those who feel the need and 
realize the privilege of securing Him that 
He will come, and this coming will be gov- 
erned by solicitations in prayer. Peter and 
John having heard of the revival in the city 
of Samaria, went down from Jerusalem and 
prayed with the converts, "that they might 
receive the Holy Ghost.'-^ Barnabas and 
Saul were set apart for the ministry and 
were prayed for before they received the 
Holy Ghost. And we must resort to the 
same blessed, delightful, and efficacious 
means of grace if we become the recipients 
of His august presence. 

To secure the Holy Ghost, self must be 
restrained and made captive in three ways : 
First, separation from the w^orld. "Come 
out from among them,"^ said Paul, "and be 
ye separate." God cannot and will not honor 
a worldly Christian. Chemists tell us that 
one grain of iodine imparts color to seven 
thousand times its weight in water, while 
one drop of pure water has no power to im- 

»Rom. 14: 17. « Acts 8: 15. =11. Cor. 6: 17, 
163 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

prove a cup of impure water or remove its 
color. One of the great engines sent out 
from the Corliss shops stopped after little 
use. The assistant engineer examined it 
thoroughly and failed to find the reason. 
The chief engineer did likewise without 
being able to locate the cause. The engine 
seemed perfect, but it would not go. As a 
last resort the maker was sent for, and he, 
about to give up in despair, happened to 
kick against a little steel wedge while walk- 
ing over the hard cement floor. Picking it 
up, he exclaimed, "Here is the difflcultj." 
It was almost the smallest piece about the 
engine, and yet it stood in the way of power. 
When it w^as put in its proper place the 
great wheels began to revolve and every- 
thing was right again. It is these little 
worldly, sinful things that disarrange 
everything, and so frequently impede and 
stop the work of soul-saving. One worldly 
Christian does more to grieve the Holy 
Ghost, insult the church, bring reproach on 
the faithful few than one imagines. Oh, 
lover of "the cucumbers, and the melons, 

164 



EQUIPMENT 

and the leeks, and the onions, and the gar- 
lick"^ of this world, let them alone, or else 
you will awake to the fact, like the Egyp- 
tians, '^My soul is dried away."^ 

Second, surrender. eTanies was very urgent 
when he said, ^'Submit yourselves to God."^ 
How can the Holy Ghost be in us and work 
through us when our passions, prejudices, 
and affections are in some degree arrayed 
against Him? To pray for the Holy Ghost 
baptism, or sing, "Come, Holy Spirit," is 
of little use unless, like Cortez, when invad- 
ing Mexico, we burn the bridges behind to 
make retreat impossible and surrender prac- 
tical. The Holy Spirit wants nothing less 
than Grant did of Pemberton at Vicksburg 
and Lee at Appomattox, nor should He have 
anything less, nor will He take anything 
less than "unconditional surrender." Self 
must be eclipsed that Christ may shine. 

Third, sacrifice. A selfish life is like a 
whirlpool that draws everything to it but 
returns nothing. Sacrifice of self is like the 
sun that gives its rays at the expense of its 
own vitality. It is not giving up "something 

»Num. n:5. zNum. 11:6. 3Jaraes4:7. 
165 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

simply because one wants it, or because it 
is a hardship to give it. This is asceticism. 
Nor is the completest- idea of self-sacrifice 
the giving up of some specific thing to an- 
other. It is the giving of one's self, one's 
best thought, best work, best life for others." 
Such self-sacrifice is the law of self-preser- 
vation, for "he that hateth his life in this 
world shall keep it unto life eternal."^ Hard, 
you say? Why, nothing should be hard to 
do for Jesus. Mrs. Comstock, when obliged 
to send her children from Burma to her 
American home, gathered them around her 
knees and prayed with them. She said, "It 
is hard to part with you, my children ; how 
can I?" Then, gazing heavenward a mo- 
ment, she said, "My Savior, I do this for 
Thee." Why not do the same for Jesus that 
you, too, might receive in return the pres- 
ence and power of the Holy Ghost? 

The Vital^ Personal Question. 
But the vital, personal question is, "Have 
ye received the Holy Ghost?" Not only 
should you have Christ for your eternal 

»Johnl2:25. 

166 



EQUIPMENT 

life, but the Holy Ghost for your internal 
life. In Christ is birth, babyhood; in the 
Holy Ghost is maturity, manhood. Christ 
in us is love before Pentecost; the Holy 
Ghost in us is power after Pentecost. Some 
who have received the latter have by their 
unprofitable and uncharitable conversation, 
by questionable and worldly amusements, 
by vanity and pride, "vexed His Holy 
Spirit," and grieved Him by speaking dis- 
paragingly of the work in which He labors. 
I charge you to be careful. There 's a sin 
against the Holy Ghost which shall never 
be forgiven. What it is commentators are 
not agreed, but believe me, to denounce or 
belittle special, intelligent, all-absorbing 
meetings, where mind and soul are engaged 
in the rescue of the lost, is to trespass on 
forbidden ground and to insult Him whose 
w^ork is to meet, convict, and convert those 
in attendance. Fatal has it proved to many 
an insulter and fatal to those influenced by 
the insult offered to the Holy Ghost. 

Aaron Burr was one of America's brave 
and intelligent men. In the army and be- 



167 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

fore tlie bar he distinguished himself. He 
shone for a time in the social world as a star 
of the first magnitude, but soon dimmed^ 
and later died in poverty and utter aban- 
donment mainly through his libertinism and- 
immorality. When and what started him 
thus on the downward path? Ridicule of 
revivals. The influence of his long deceased 
ministerial father was thrown about him. 
When at college he desired to attend the 
revival services which were then in pro- 
gresSj but Doctor Witherspoon said, "Don't 
go there, Aaron, don't go there; that 's a 
place of wildfire and great excitement; no 
religion about that; don't go there.'' He 
did not. From that time the influences of 
an insulted Spirit departed, and Aaron 
started on his downward career. What will 
that minister say when he faces God the 
Holy Ghost? What will Aaron Burr say? 
What will you say of your derogatory re- 
mark which may have eternally influenced 
another soul, and if not, certainly has 
grieved the divine Spirit? I beseech you, 
plead earnestly for yourself, and for others 



168 



EQUIPMENT 

who may have been associated with you at 
the time, 

"Stay, thou insulted Spirit, stay, 

Though I have done Thee such despite ; 
Cast not a sinner quite away, 

Nor take Thine everlasting flight." 

There are those who have the Holy Ghost, 
but not in His full authority. They quench 
in a degree His voice and circumscribe His 
acts, instead of heeding the advice of Paul, 
"Be filled with the Spirit."^ It is only when 
so filled that we can rejoice like Elizabeth, 
who "was filled with the Holy Ghost,''^ and 
cried, "Blessed"; or grasp the future as 
Zacharias, "who was filled with the Holy 
Ghost and prophesied" f or resist tempta- 
tion like Jesus, who, "being full of the Holy 
Ghost,"^ was led by the Spirit into the wil- 
derness to vanquish Satan; or speak with 
power like the disciples of Pentecost, who 
"were filled with the Holy Ghost"^ and 
spake as the Spirit gave them utterance ; or 
with face tinged with immortal joy, as 
Stephen, who, "being full of the Holy 
Ghost,"^ had a glimpse of heaven before his 

lEph. 5:18. aLuKel:41,42. 3Lukel:67. « Luke 4:1. ^Acts 
2:4. « Acts 7: 55. 

169 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

martyrdom. Oh, for this fullness I Come, 
Holy Spirit, in ''bodily shape like a dove/'^ 
as Thou didst upon Jesus in Jordan; or 
€oine upon us with "cloven tongues/'^ as 
Thou didst upon the disciples at Pentecost ; 
or like a "rushing mighty wind/'^ as Thou 
didst in the forest meeting conducted by 
John Easter, which stirred saint and sinner, 
though not a leaf moved. Come in any way, 
in any form, only come 

"With all Thy quickening powers, 
Kindle a flame of sacred love 
In these cold hearts of ours." 

^ Luke 3 : 22. 2 Acts 2:3. ^ Acts 2 : 2. 



170 



POWER 



CHAPTER VIII. 

^aotoer in a IBlebitial 

Born a little before^ and dying more than 
thirty years later than Christ, lived the 
philosopher Seneca, who wrote, "It is by the 
benefit of letters that absent friends are in 
a manner brought together.'^ Eighteen cen- 
turies later Longfellow penned : 

"Kind messages that pass from land to land, 

Kind letters that betray the heart's deep history. 
In which we feel the pressure of a hand, 

One touch of fire, and all the rest is mystery." 

Few things are more pleasing and helpful 
than good letters. When Hezekiah was sick, 
the king of Babylon wrote him sympathetic 
letters. When Nehemiah started to rebuild 
the walls of Jerusalem, Artaxerxes gave him 
letters of introduction to the governors. 
When Haman^s plan to destroy the Jews 
had been frustrated, Mordecai wrote letters 
to all of them "in the provinces of the King 

171 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Ahasuerus"^ to make special thanksgiving. 
And Paul's letters are described as "weighty 
and powerful."^ 

After the resurrection of Jesus, Luke the 
evangelist was a w^itness of the visible pres- 
ence and power of Christ, and heard from 
His lips a secret which all Christians should 
learn. He had a friend by the name of 
Theophilus, to whom he had written a for- 
mer letter, "of all that Jesus began both to 
do and teach."^ He now pens a second 
letter, the thought of which may be sum- 
marized as follows : 

Dear Theophilus : In my former letter 
I informed you of the character, miracles, 
and doctrines of Jesus. Also how the offi- 
cers, through the hatred of the priests, 
arrested and murdered Him. After His 
death He was buried by a good man named 
Joseph. Now, for the most interesting 
news : In the morning some of the women 
who had been blessed under His preaching, 
went to the grave and found the stone rolled 
away, and Jesus was gone. The same even- 
ing, while the disciples were in the assembly- 

' Esther 9: 19, 20. m. Cor. 10: 10. 'Acts 1:1. 
172 



POWER 

room at Jerusalem, two of the brethren en- 
tered and said they had seen, walked, and 
talked with Jesus on the way to Emmaus. 
Of course, the others doubted, but just then 
Jesus stood in the midst and said, "Peace 
be unto you."^ He then showed His hands 
and feet. Yes, Theophilus, the wounds and 
the marks of blood were there. As He ate 
with them He explained many things in the 
law of Moses and the prophets, and told the 
disciples He had a special work for each to 
do. "But," said He, "tarry ye here in the 
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued w"ith 
power from on high."^ Then one of the 
number said, "Lord, wilt thou at this time 
restore again the kingdom to Israel ?"^ And 
Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know 
the times or the seasons, which the Father 
hath put in his own power, but 
"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall he wit- 
nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all 
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter- 
most parts of the earth/'"^ 

On one word and through one Person does 

iLuke24:36. «Luke24:49. 3Actsl:6, 7. *Actsl:8. 
173 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

this whole declaration rest. It is something 
which men universally crave, and for which 
they will toil and sacrifice — power. "Life,'' 
as Emerson said, "is a search after power." 
Possessions are of value only as they confer 
power. Events are significant only as they 
affect power. Man's ingenuity is to increase 
power, and it is only by using such as God 
has created that this can be done. The 
whirl of the spindle, the buzz of the saw, the 
shock of the trip-hammer, the drawing of the 
glowing railroad bars from the furnace, and 
the myriads of engines which run over them, 
can all be traced to the latent power of coal 
which man has released and utilized. The 
invisible potentiality we call electricity, 
which moves cars and carriages, quickens 
chemical processes, illumines our cities, has 
existed since creation, but only since Frank- 
lin's day have men harnessed it. The air 
and water, so long dreaded, have been 
brought into servitude. The one must carry 
the balloon, flying machines, and wireless 
messages ; the other, various craft, while our 
Niagaras, like Samson grinding in prison, 



174 



POWER 

turn a multitude of turbine wheels, thus 
making the machinery of factories purr and 
hum. 

What Is Power? 

Power, what is it? In ordinary language, 
it is the faculty of performing a certain 
thing, the ability to produce certain results. 
Physical power is the ability to perform 
life's duties ; mental power, to think to pur- 
pose ; will power, to choose wisely and well ; 
conscience power, to judge right from 
wrong ; moral power, to do right rather than 
wrong; and religious power, to exhibit the 
principles that underlie this religion. 

Christianity is preeminently the religion 
of power. Its Holy Founder is "declared to 
be the Son of God with power."^ Previous 
to His advent the greatest saints and deep- 
est thinkers thought religion "was contained 
in certain forms of worship, in certain sys- 
tems of doctrine, certain mystic exercises, 
or in a forced and formal obedience to cer- 
tain laws." But Christ showed that in His 
religion there was a mysterious power to 
change the life and affection. From the 

' Rom. 1 : 4. 

175 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

first He declared He came, not to give men 
new ideas, but power. The truth, as given 
by Moses and the prophets, He did not mod- 
ify or set aside. But He made that truth 
dynamic. He infused into it the spiritual 
force of a Divine life. Just as we store 
power in electrical batteries, so God stored 
all power in Christ. "All power,"^ said 
Jesus, "is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth.^' Power "to forgive sins,"^ power "to 
heal sicknesses,''^ power to drive out "un- 
clean spirits,"^ power to raise the dead, 
power to make men "sons of God,''^ and 
power to make these sons soul-winners for 
God. 

The Power of the Holy Ghost. 
This same Jesus who returned from the 
wilderness "in the power of the Spirit,"^ 
said, *^But ye shall receive poiver^ after that 
the Holy Ghost is come upon you.'' Holy 
Ghost power! However harsh the phrase 
may grate on one's ears, that is what it 
means. Power over ourselves. Power to 
withstand trial, to bear suffering, to front 

»Matt.28:18. 2Mark2:10. » Mark 3: 15. *Luke4:36. "John 
1:12. «Luke4:14. 

176 



POWER 

danger, to follow right convictions, and in 

seasons of darkness and storm to have a 

calm reliance on the All-powerful One. 

Power that 

"... Works within, 
And breaks the chain of reigning sin; 
The wild, imperious lusts subdue 
And forms the wretched heart anew." 

The mission of the blessed Holy Ghost is 
to bestow power. "In the New Testament 
alone," said Henry Drummond, "the Spirit 
is referred to nearly three hundred times. 
And the one word with which He is con- 
stantly associated is "power." All may 
have it, though few possess it ; yet through 
these few God performs His most impor- 
tant work. Did God want the ancient peo- 
ple revived? Then, said Paul, "Well spake 
the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet."* 
"Holy men of God," said Peter, "spake as 
they w^ere moved by the Holy Ghost."^ 
When deacons were needed for the church at 
Jerusalem, we read that they chose seven 
men "full of the Holy Ghost."^ When 
special workers were needed for evangelistic 

» Acts 28: 25. «II. Pet. 1: 21. »Acts 6: 3, 5. 
12 177 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

service, "the Holy Ghost said, Separate me 
Barnabas and Saul for the Avork whereunto 
I have called them/'^ David only exalted 
Christ "by the Holy Ghost."^ And of Him 
we read, "God anointed Jesus with the Holy 
Ghost and with power.''^ 

It is by such power we influence others. 
Nothing so awakens, enlightens, and ele- 
vates humanity. It sways souls for right^ 
communicates new and spiritual influences 
to society, throws into circulation new and 
spiritual thoughts, and rouses and fortifies 
the Avill to an unconquerable purpose of 
well-doing. Without this pentecostal power 
there can be no pentecostal revival. John 
Easter had this power. One mid-day, while 
preaching in a forest, a rushing sound as of 
a mighty wind smote the ears of the vast 
congregation. No storm had smitten the 
woods. Not even a leaf or a twig stirred. 
Instantly several hundred horses broke their 
fastenings, and hundreds of men and women 
fell flat upon their faces, stricken by the 
mighty power of God. The work of conver- 
sion was said to have been as instantaneous 

'Acts 13:2. 2Markl2:36. ^ActslOtSS, 
178 



POWER 

as the work of conviction. It was the power 
of the Holy Ghost. 

Father Carpenter, a Presbyterian layman 
of New York, had this power. He was a 
cipher in the church until anointed by the 
Holy Ghost. Immediately he became a man 
of power, though of ordinary intellect and 
very limited education. In personal effort, 
hardened sinners melted under his appeals 
and yielded to Christ. Once, in a stage- 
coach going from Newark to New York, 
his fellow-passengers were six unconverted 
men and one believer. He began to present 
the claims of Jesus, and so powerfully did 
the Spirit attend the truth that four were 
converted in the coach, and the other two 
after reaching New York. At his death, it 
was stated, after a very careful inquiry, that 
more than ten thousand souls had been con- 
verted through his direct instrumentality. 

Jonathan Edwards and Charles G. Fin- 
ney had this power. While the former was 
preaching his memorable sermon, "Sinners 
in the hands of an angry God," in North- 
ampton Church, Massachusetts, the congre- 



179 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

gation was so affected that men and women 
clutched the pillars of the church for fear 
they would drop into perdition. While the 
latter was walking through Whitesboro cot- 
ton factory, New York, a couple of young 
women became greatly agitated as he came 
near them. One of them was trying to mend 
a broken thread, but her hands so trembled 
that she could not tie it. Mr. Finney looked 
solemnly at her, and she burst into tears. 
The feeling so spread through the factory 
that the owner said to the superintendent, 
"Stop the mill, and let the people attend to 
religion, for it is more important that our 
souls should be saved than that this mill 
should run." And it happened that within 
a few days nearly all the employees were 
brought to Christ. 

Dwight L. Moody had this power. On one 
occasion he confessed that his success in 
soul-winning was through the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost. Converted for twenty-one 
years, he felt he needed power. His sermons 
he described as "beating against the air." 
At last, he requested a few people to pray 



180 



POWER 

with him every Friday at four o'clock. 
After the great Chicago fire, he went to New 
York, and while going into a bank on Wall 
Street he felt a strange and mighty power 
come over him. He w^ent to his hotel, and, 
weeping before God, cried, "O my God, stay 
Thy hand.'' After this he declared, "I do 
not know that I have preached since but 
that God has given me some soul." 

" 'Ye shall have pow'r/ said Jesus, Vhen 

The Holy Ghost is come; 
Your loosened tongues shall speak His praise, 

Your lips no more be dumb ; 
Then, timid, shrinking ones, be brave 

To reach a hand, the lost to save.' '' 

Need op This Power. 
This power of the Holy Ghost is the need 
of the hour. It is the only adequate means 
for meeting the excessive demands of the 
day. Never did the church have more 
wealth, culture, and prestige than now. The 
Avorld has never had better preaching from 
an intellectual point of view. "Her services 
are attractive and unimpeachable. Her or- 
ganization is well-nigh perfect. But what of 
results? Are they not pitifully meager by 

181 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

comparison with the outlay? Are not the 
great majority of our churches living, year 
after year, without revivals and without any 
perceptible influence upon the communities 
in which they are located? In a land like 
ours, we rightly expect the Christian church 
to be the all-potent influence, controlling in 
every department of life, shaping politics, 
molding society, swaying commerce, com- 
manding the loyal service of all intelligent 
persons, and easily banishing all unchris- 
tian forces. But it is not so. Why? Be- 
cause, with all their equipment of wealth 
and machinery, with all their purity and 
culture, with all their prestige and persist- 
ence, there is not sufficient power in our 
churches to make these effective." 

As an organization, the church is like a 
mighty cannon of the finest gun-metal, cast 
!on truest scientific principles, turned out in 
the burning furnaces, wrought in the crud- 
est forges, charged with powerful shell, yet 
lacking the fire to make it fulfill its mission. 
It is like the train Doctor Arnot tells about, 
when he was compelled to wait a long time 



182 



POWER 

at a Scottish depot for it to move. Inquir- 
ing of the trainman what was the matter, he 
asked, "Is it the want of water ?^' "Plenty 
of water," was the reply, "but it's no 
bilin\" 

What the church needs is a power inter- 
nal to control the external. Power to lead 
men to practice, rather than admire the 
right.. Power to arouse men from sin, rather 
than to rock them to sleep in it. Power to 
turn the tide of low ideals and worldly 
jjurposes into nobler and more Christly 
channels. Power not to save self, nor to es- 
cape temptation, but to save souls. Yes, 
Christ would have every church a spiritual 
power-house, every gathering of Christians 
a spiritual dynamo, every disciple a live 
wire. 

How TO Secure This Power. 
Just as there are laws in the material 
w^orld by which power is imparted, so are 
there in the spiritual. Just as the positive 
and negative ends of an electric wire must 
be brought together before an electric influ- 
ence is felt, so God and the Christian must 

183 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

have an unbroken connection if the Holj 
Ghost power is to sway and regenerate 
sinful hearts. 

Jesus Ivuew this, hence it was that the 
disciples were urged to ^^tarry'' until they re- 
ceived this enduement. For three years they 
sat at His feet, heard His sayings, saw 
His miracles, yet they were unable to with- 
stand the assaults of Jewish skepticism, or 
to meet the fine-spun philosophies of the 
Greeks. But with the Holy Ghost, they 
could vanquish their opponents and turn the 
current of the world's thought into new 
channels. 

\ V^orking for God must be preceded by 
waiting on God. The "go ye"^ of Christ 
succeeds the "tarry ye." The secret of this 
attainment is the same to-day as when 
promised. Much prayer brings great power. 
What a prayer-meeting those disciples must 
have had ! One hundred and twenty persons 
waiting on God for ten days! All of one 
accord ! What confessions of sin ! What 
bewailing of weakness! What expressions 
of willingness to be or do anything for 

'Matt. 28:19. 

384 



POWER 

Christ! What thanksgiving for the life, 
death, and resurrection of Jesus I What 
petitions for power ! And then, what a pen- 
tecostal baptism! Pentecost of the New 
Testament is Peniel of the old, "I will not 
let thee go, exceiJt thou bless me."^ 

Prayer ! That 's it. Carion Ryle said 
that wherever a man of prayer is found in 
the Bible, there is also found a man of 
power. Robert Bruce, a Scotch minister, 
when late in going to church, was heard to 
pray : "I protest, I will not go except thou 
go with me.'' Finney was once preaching 
in a New York theater. About ten minutes 
after he began preaching he suddenly 
stopped and said, "Brethren, the Holy 
Spirit's influence is not here to-day. We 
must get the reinforcement of the Divine 
power, else we are helpless. Let us pray." 
With that he knelt upon the stage, and 
prayed until the audience was melted to 
tears. Prayed till there was the reinforce- 
ment of Divine power, through which a 
large number were converted that night. J. 
Wilbur Chapman tells of a young, ignorant 

'Gen. 32:26. 

185 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Irishman in his parish, who wanted this 
power. He secured it, as the disciples of old. 
Mr. Chapman had called a few of the men 
of the church together to plan for a revival, 
l)ut said that nothing could be done without 
the "infilling of the Holy Ghost." No sooner 
said than this young man left the room, and 
did not return while the meeting lasted. "I 
found him,'' said Mr. Chapman, "in one of 
the lower rooms of the church, literally on 
his face before God, pleading, "O God, I 
plead with Thee for this blessing" ; then, as 
if God were showing him what was in the 
way, he said, "My Father, I will give up 
every known sin, only I plead with Thee for 
power"; and, as if his individual sins were 
passing before him, he said, again and again, 
**I will give them up ; I will give them up." 
Then, without any emotion, he rose from his 
knees, turned his face heavenward, and sim- 
ply said, "And now I claim the blessing." 
For the first time he became sensible of the 
presence of Mr. Chapman, and, with a shin- 
ing countenance, he reached out his hand to 
clasp his. "I have received Him ; I have re- 



186 



POWER 

ceived Him/' he remarked. In the next few 
months this was proved, for he led more 
than sixty men into the kingdom of God. 

"Breathe on us, Thou Holy Ghost, 

The young and old inspire; 
Let each receive Thy Pentecost, 

Send hearts and tongues of fire ; 
Thou wonderful transforming pow'r. 

Come now in this accepted hour." 

After Receiving This Power — What? 

Those having this Holy Ghost power are 
to be honored with a special mission in life. 
^^Ye shall be witnesses of me/' said Jesus. 
A witness is a "testimony." To witness is to 
attest to a fact or an event. The disciples 
proved this when they spoke "with other 
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter- 
ance."^ It was a Holy Ghost interpretation 
of the Word. They were surcharged with 
Divine and saving power. And "many won- 
ders and signs were done by the apostles,"^ 
so that fear "came upon every soul," and 
thousands repented of their sins and accept- 
ed Christ. There was a Holy Ghost per- 
suasiveness. 

»Acts2:4. 'Acts 2: 43. 

187 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Persons endued with the power of the 
Holy Ghost will witness to the saving power 
of Christ's blood; witness by a consistent 
Christian life, witness with the same sweet 
spirit that characterized the Master; wit- 
ness, if necessary, at the expense of life, for 
"witness" in the Greek means "martyr.'' 
Oh, yes; to witness for Christ is of great 
value. It was through such testimony from 
the lips and life of Jerry McAuley that Mr. 
Hadley became a Christian. Then was it 
that the Spirit said to him, "Tell it ! Tell it ! 
Tell it !'' and who can estimate the worth of 
the many lives rescued and redeemed by his 
telling it? 

"Ye shall be witnesses,'' said Jesus, "unto 
me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in 
Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of 
the earth." Jerusalem was the home city, 
Judea the home country, and Samaria their 
neighbor and enemy. When we have the 
power of the Holy Ghost, the home and rel- 
atives, neighbors and strangers, friends and 
foes, in town and out of town will know and 
remark it, because we will talk and live 
Jesus. 

18S 



POWER 

Oh, for the Holy Ghost power! Let us 
pray like William Burns, of blessed mem- 
ory, "Oh, come, come!" As he stood in his 
father's pulpit he clasped his hands, lifted 
his eyes toward heaven, and, in an agony for 
the Holy Ghost to descend upon the people, 
he cried, "Come!" Being strengthened in 
his faith, he cried, "He is coming! He is 
coming!" Suddenly a voice was heard in 
the congregation, "He is come ! He is come ! 
Hallelujah ! Glory to God !" Fifteen hun- 
dred people were aroused. Some were 
crying, "What must I do to be saved?" 
Others in exultation were exclaiming, "Be- 
hold, God is become my salvation," while 
one elder, who for the first time received a 
baptism of power, cried out, "O Christ, have 
mercy on my soul! Oh, break this hard 
heart !" 

"Spirit of holiness, descend; 
Thy people wait for Thee ; 
Thine ear in kind compassion lend ; 
Let ns Thy mercy see. 

"Behold, Thy weary churches wait 
With wistful, longing eyes; 
Let us no more lie desolate ; 
O bid Thy light arise!" 

■ 189 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

'At the battle of Salainis, we are told that 
Xerxes took his position on Mt. ^galeos, 
overlooking the fight. Whenever he saw any 
of his men performing deeds of valor, he 
inquired who they were, and caused his 
scribe to write down their names and resi- 
dences. On this record the reward would 
be bestowed in due time. Jesus know^s and 
sees and hears those who witness for Him, 
and to such and only such, will the "well 
done" be uttered. 

"O hallelujah, praise the Lord for what His grace has 
giv'n ! 

The promise of the Father true, the Holy Ghost 
from heav'n ; 

He purifies the heart by faith, and power doth im- 
part 

To love and live and toil for Him, with hand, and 
head, and heart." 



190 



AIM 



CHAPTER IX. 
Slim of a ISUtiibal 

Special^ protracted services are means to 
an end. They are intended to instruct and 
incite Christian people to activity in one 
direction — the salvation of others. For 
this purpose Christ instituted the church 
and commissioned its members to disciple 
all nations. The gospel is a message of good 
news to the lost. It is biological science in 
the highest sense of the word. Christ came 
"that they might have life, and that they 
might have it more abundantly."^ "Philoso- 
phers draw their pupils from the elite of 
humanity, but Christ finds His material 
among the worst and meanest, for He does 
not propose merely to make the good better^ 
but the bad good." Hence Christians ought 
to be wise enough to see this and to seek 
their salvation. Because they do it not, few 

'John 10: 10. 

191 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

are the conversions compared to the number 
of sinners. 

It has been estimated that in the random 
shooting of common soldiers only one bullet 
in four thousand does execution. During the 
Franco-German war one million soldiers of 
the latter entered France, but only one hun- 
dred thousand French soldiers were killed. 
A careful mathematician set to work and 
found that nine Germans in ten fired away 
for seven months without hitting any one, 
and the tenth only fired one effective shot. 
The same condition of things exists in the 
church. In rating members deeply inter- 
ested in revivals, willing to bear responsi- 
bilities and making some heart the target 
for every good influence, is it too low to 
place the figure at ten per cent? Grave 
question, child of God! 

What is the aim of a revival if it is not 
EzekieFs vision of reanimated dry bones in 
reality? "The great Reformation of the six- 
teenth century,'' said Dr. Theodore L. Cuy- 
ler, "was far more than a protestation 
against the errors of Rome ; it was a direct 



192 



AIM 

bringing of benighted souls to the only Sav- 
ior of sinners." The Wesleys, Whitfields, 
and that intellectual giant, President Ed- 
wards, made this their chief business. "Let 
us labor to win men to Christ" was the pa- 
thetic cry of Brown Haddington. When 
asked what was the great work of the 
preacher. Dr. Lyman Beecher answered: 
"Not theology, not controversy ; it is saving 
souls." It is also the greatest work of the 
laity. It is 

"Seeking the lost, and pointing to Jesus 

Souls that are weak, and hearts that are sore; 
Leading them forth in ways of salvation, 
Showing the path to life evermore." 

'^He which converteth the sinner from the 
error of his loay, shall save a soul from 
death, and shall hide a multitude of sinsJ''^ 

The soul ! What is it? Vain the philoso- 
phy of men and the conclusion of specula- 
tion. The Epicurean would have it a subtile 
air, the Stoic a heavenly flame, while sacred 
writers and many learned men, gazing 
through "star-eyed science" of the day, con- 
sider it a rational principle or spirit which 

'James 5: 20. 
13 193 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

controls the thoughts, emotions, and voli- 
tions of man. It is an immortal tenant 
incarnate in a mortal body, unseen, un- 
touched, but not unfelt, "the divinity that 
stirs within us.'' It is that presiding entity 
which lifts the scales of judgment, holds 
the lever of reason, and speaks in no uncer- 
tain voice through the conscience. It has a 
relationship with external as well as inter- 
nal things, with time and eternity. Though 
inhabiting and controlling the body, it is in- 
dependent of it and will exist when the body 
is no more. Fire can consume, water can 
drown, rocks can crush, death can conquer, 
acids can dissolve the body, but none of 
these things can have the least influence on 
the soul. It is 

"... Of origin divine, 
God's glorious image, freed from clay," 

immortal, coming, as Seneca said, "into the 
possession of endless ages," at its separa- 
tion from the body. 

The soul ! What is its worth? Prices are 
usually governed by the law of supply and 
demand. A mathematician has fixed on 

194 



AIM 

$10,000 being the money value of a life in 
the United States, but what mathematician 
can estimate the soul's value? The philoso- 
phy of Sir William Hamilton was that there 
is nothing really great on earth but man, 
and nothing really great in man but his 
soul. Is this so in the light of thousands 
who sell themselves "for nought"?^ Many, 
like Yousour, the "terrible Turk," who was 
drowned when the La Bourgogne went 
down, perish through the gold to which they 
cling, or, like the man who Tolstoi said was 
offered all the land he could surround in a 
day's walk, but so strained every nerve and 
muscle to complete his task that he died. 
"What shall it profit a man,"^ said Jesus, 
"if he shall gain the whole world," with its 
vast kingdoms, jeweled crowns, coffers of 
millionaires, yea, the hoarded wealth of 
Ormus and of Ind, "and lose his own soul? 
Or what shall a man give in exchange for 
his soul ?" 

A rich and estimable merchant some years 
ago was reduced to mere poverty during a 
money panic. To make matters worse, his 

«lBa.52:3. 'Mark 8:36,37. 

195 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

wife sickened and died and was buried at the 
expense of a rich banker friend, who took 
the bereaved husband and motherless girl 
into his home. Soon the health of the unfor- 
tunate man gare way, and he became de- 
spondent. The banker tried to cheer him, 
explaining that there was a possibility of 
recovering his fortune. Said he, "I will 
give you my Fourth Avenue property, worth 
fifty thousand dollars for something you 
possess !'' The man looked astonished, and 
said, ^Tossess, possess? Why, I possess 
nothing.'' "Oh, yes, you do," said the 
banker, "and I will give you this property 
in exchange for little Mary." The father 
was startled. He had never once thought of 
the worth of his child, and in response he 
said, "No, no; I 'm poor, but my Mary is 
worth more to me than houses or money." 
Wise parent. Value unestimated. He had 
something to live for. Is the soul of the most 
sinful of God's creatures less? Is there any- 
thing one could give in exchange for his 
soul without meeting an irreparable loss? 
The soul! What has it cost? The ex- 



196 



AIM 

pense of an article largely determines its 
yalue. The diamond necklace intended for 
Madame Du Barry was so costly that no 
one in the days of Louis XV. could purchase 
it. It had five hundred diamonds and was 
valued at one hundred thousand dollars. 
Millet's "Angelus," with its humble toilers 
praying in the field as the bell sounded from 
the mist-enveloped steeple of the village 
church for evening devotion, was purchased 
by the American Art Association for one 
hundred and ten thousand dollars. Exor- 
bitant price for such small things, to be 
sure. True, but for that tenant which in- 
habits every human body there was a price 
paid of infinite greatness. Let sinners con- 
sider it and they will be more willing to 
guard it. Let Christians ponder it and they 
will be more earnest for the protection and 
salvation of others in whom it dwells. 

Cost? Stand still ye Heavens that hung 
with crape, and thou Sun that blushed with 
shame ; keep back ye Winds that chanted the 
requiem, and Earth withhold thy convul- 
sions as when God's Son was murdered, for 



197 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

human souls were then purchased by blood. 
Cost? Ye angels who wept, ye devils who 
trembled, ye saints who have experienced a 
change of heart, ye know. It was blood, life- 
blood, blood Divine; blood, not in part, but 
in the whole ; blood, not like AbePs, which 

"... For vengeance 
Pleaded to the skies" ; 
but blood 

"... That washes white, 

rrom hand that brings relief. 
From heart that knows our every joy 
And feels our every grief." 

The soul! What are its possibilities? 
With proper treatment, proper environment, 
there is no height of intelligence and holi- 
ness it cannot attain ; no spot in the universe 
it cannot reach, no discoveries it cannot 
make, and no obstacles it cannot remove in 
getting near its Creator. But, alas, "to 
think of such a soul being made to grind like 
a blinded Samson at the wheel of sensual 
pleasures, when it has a wing scarcely in- 
ferior to the seraph's in strength, and might 
yet prove capable of a flight as high ! To 
think of its being confined to the duties of 

108 



AIM 

the workshop, seldom rising above the ques- 
tion, What wages can I earn? when the 
boundless universe is its proper field of dis- 
covery, and does not afford it too ample 
range ! To think of its being made a drudge 
of the body, knowing no better employment 
than to pamper its lusts, when it could make 
the highest world its footstool; and while 
suns and systems roll in their grandeur at 
his feet, could levy tribute from them all." 
To think of its degradation amongst devils, 
when it could be exalted among angels. 
Such a soul, to use the phrase of Socrates, 
^'requires to be cultivated with attention," 
and the neglect of this may result in eternal 
consequences. 

Few of us realize that in every dirty lump 
of coal lies a burning diamond, in every 
piece of common clay nestles a kindling sap- 
phire, in every particle of sand is hidden a 
glittering amethyst which needs a clearer 
eye and greater knowledge to extract it than 
is usually given man. Out of an unsightly 
slab of marble Angelo chiseled his "David.'' 
Out of colored paints Da Vinci produced 



199 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

his "Last Supper." Out of iron, steel, and 
brass Corliss built many a mighty engine. 
Out of a rag and bone shop in Paris a man 
purchased a picture for three francs. Tak- 
ing it home he cleaned it, and was aston- 
ished to see the signature of Rembrandt, 
with the date 1629, in one corner. It brought 
$20,000. Out of London mud John Ruskin 
found, through analysis, sand, clay, soot, 
and water. Musing upon such, it occurred 
to him that these very substances produced 
precious gems. From the sand or silica are 
formed the onyx, chrysolite, agate, beryl, 
cornelian, calcedony, jasper, amethyst; 
from the clay are formed the sapphire, 
ruby, emerald, and topaz; from the soot is 
formed the diamond, and if nature had its 
perfect work in bringing these and other 
substances together, instead of mud flying 
from carriage-wheels and bespattering 
people's clothes, it would be gems like snow- 
flakes, shining with the radiance of a rain- 
bow. If nature has such power to transform 
crude things into the most precious and 
glittering gems, what of God, who can take 



200 



AIM 

the crudest soul and make him ^a burning 
and a shining light,"^ swaying others by his 
Toice, healing by his touch, guiding by his 
influence to celestial realms some who now 
grovel in sin and grope in darkness? 

Motives in Soul- Winning. 
The soul being the most important thing, 
the effort to save it must also be important. 
Moses thought so when he cried, "Blot me 
out,"^ or save Israel. Queen Esther thought 
so when she declared, "I will go in unto the 
king, and if I perish, I perish."^ Frances 
Xavier thought so, for continually he would 
cry, "Yet more, O God ! Yet more, O God V^ 
Loyola thought so when he would cry in the 
pulpit, "God, give us more; O God, give us 
more!'' David Brainerd thought so, for 
when asleep he dreamed of it, and when 
awake he wrought in tireless effort. Harlan 
Page thought so, for when writing his let- 
ters he mentioned it. The seraphic Ruther- 
ford thought so when he confessed, "My 
witness is above, that your heaven would be 
two heavens to me, and the salvation of you 

>John5:35. ^Ex. 32:32. 3Esther4:16. 
201 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

all as two salvations to me. It were my 
heaven even to spend this life in gathering 
in some souls to Christ." Robert Murray 
MeCheyne thought so when he preached "as 
if he was a dyin^ to have men converted." 
Thomas Chalmers thought so when "he 
preached as though he was dying for me." 
Charles H. Spurgeon thought so when he 
wrote, "I would rather be the means of sav- 
ing a soul from death than be the greatest 
orator on earth. I would rather bring the 
poorest woman in the world to the feet of 
Jesus than I would to be made Archbishop 
of Canterbury." And Paul thought so when 
he cried, "I could wish myself accursed from 
Christ,"^ "that I might by all means save 
some."^ 

Oh, what a consuming passion for souls, 
swaying purpose, commanding action and 
dominating sacrifice. Such a passion only 
characterizes a few. Talmage said, "Not 
more than one Christian out of thousands 
feels it," and those who do, "like Ariosto's 
buried heroes, rise up to do battle" against 
sin and to rescue those within its grasp. Oh, 

«Rom.9:3. •!. Cor, 9:22. 

202 



AIM 

that we who claim relationship with God 
through Christ were as interested in the 
work of saving souls as Archimedes when he 
implored the Roman soldier to spare his life 
till he had solved the problem he was work- 
ing in the sand ; or Da Vinci, when painting 
his "Last Supper," and frequently forget- 
ting his meals; then would unsaved mem- 
bers of our families, our classes and our 
acquaintances soon be brought to know 
Jesus. Oliver Wendell Holmes touched the 
key-note when he penned, 

"Along its front no sabres shine, 
No blood-red pennons wave; 
Its banner bears the single line, 
^Our duty is to save/ " 

One motive in soul-winning should be love 
for the sinner. Not sin, but sinner. Too 
many never make a distinction, hence in de- 
spising the one they are liable to embrace 
the other. Had David loved Uriah he would 
not have been guilty of murder and adul- 
tery. Had the Grecian orator loved Soc- 
rates he would not have proposed the 
hemlock. Had the Roman merchant loved 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Epictetus he would not have twisted the leg 
of the scholastic slave. But Jesus, hating 
sin and loving the sinner, suffered, "the just 
for the unjust, that he might bring us to 
God."^ Matchless love, transforming sin- 
ners into saints as He transforms a seed into 
a sheaf, and a babe into a sage. "I love 
men,'^ said Cardinal Manning, "because 
Jesus loved them." "And I," said Henrj 
George, "love Jesus because He loved men." 
It is impossible to love Christ without lov- 
ing those for whom He died; and that love 
that goes forth, like Grace Darling, to save 
others, is only a revelation of that Divine 
love in the heart which aids in sweetening 
and regenerating society. 

The great motive, however, is what we 
can do for the soul. James tells us that "he 
which converteth the sinner from the error 
of his way shall save a soul from death." 
Save from death! That's what the life- 
saving crew and firemen frequently do, 
when, at the risk of their own lives, they 
breast storm and fire. When the little band 
of English men, women, and children were 

a. Pet. 3:18. 

204 



AIM 

imprisoned during the Indian Mutiny, in the 
residency of Lucknow, Havelock \yith his 
few regiments had to fight his way through 
a hundred thousand men; and when the 
English soldiers' courage and strength 
showed signs of wavering, Havelock roused 
them with this simple sentence: ^^Men, 
would you dare stop or turn back, when 
helpless women and children are dying and 
must be saved?'' That is the Christian's 
mission in reference to sinners. While the 
words doubtless refer to an erring brother, 
the general principle is the same in all its 
applications to a lost soul. What a high 
office before God and an awful responsibil- 
ity toward men. To save such a soul is to 
brighten eternity, to crown us with glory, 
and to give unspeakable joy to the saved 
ones. To save not, is to have that soul lost 
in misery, ourselves divested of glory, and 
Christ robbed of the heritage He purchased 
with His life-blood. Which shall it be? A 
God-enthroned, or a God-dethroned soul? 

More than this, James says, in converting 
a soul, "he shall cover a multitude of sins.'' 



205 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Sin cursed our world in the beginning, and 
humanity has cursed itself by sinning. 
God's universe has been thrown out of har- 
mony by it ; a chasm has been made between 
Creator and creature which could only be 
bridged by the bleeding form of Jehovah's 
Son. Yet, in spite of sacrifice and atone- 
ment, sins are multiplied daily. But God 
has made provision for the covering of all 
if we will influence souls to place their trust 
in Jesus. What a privilege is ours! Not 
sin-bearers, but sin-coverers. Coverers, be- 
fore men and God; coverers, now and at 
judgment. Mission divine ! Responsibility, 
weighty with eternal obligations! Respon- 
sibility which will evolve itself into a bless- 
ing if assumed, but into a curse if waived. 
Shall we, or shall we not throw love's 
mantle over sin's defilement? It is ours to 
say, and ours to do. 

Method in Soul-Winning. 
To win souls is no easy task, though the 
most important under heaven. If the fisher- 
man considers it of utmost importance to 
have rod, line, and hook in proper trim 

206 



AIM 

to fish, and the hunter to have his gun and 
ammunition likewise to shoot, and if they 
consider carefulness essential in approach- 
ing the place of their game, having eye and 
ear open and hand ready to jerk the line at 
the first bite, or shoot at the first bound, how 
much more should the soul-winner prepare, 
and use tact in the hunt of bigger game, 
adopting right methods and means? He 
must grasp every opportunity which will be 
conducive to this end, for 

"... A mere moment's putting off might make 
Mischance almost as heavy as a crime." 

The first method in soul-winning is, Prai/ 
for them, God honors the bent knees and 
supplicating heart. Sermons are good, per- 
sonal talks good, but earnest prayers 
surpass all. The "gift of the knees" is the 
greatest gift conferred on man. When told 
his moments were few, President Bachus, of 
Hamilton College, said, "Is that so? Then 
take me out of bed and place me upon my 
knees, and let me spend that time in calling 
on God for the salvation of the world." Like 
Cruden, he died upon his knees. "Ah," sale? 

207 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

John Wesley to a stonebreaker who was 
kneeling by the wayside, breaking stones, "I 
wish I could break the hearts of some who 
hear me as easily as you are breaking those 
stones.'' The man looked up and replied, 
"Did you ever try to break them on your 
knees?" 

There was a Roman law that no one 
should approach the emperor's tent by night 
under penalty of death. One night a soldier 
was found near the royal tent, bearing in 
his hand a petition which he wished to pre- 
sent. He was at once sentenced to die. The 
emperor, hearing voices without, inquired 
the reason, and learning that a soldier had 
invaded the forbidden bounds to bring a 
petition to him, gave this command: "If 
the petition be for himself, let him die; but 
if it is for another, spare his life." The plea 
proved to be for two fellow-soldiers who had 
fallen asleep at their post. So God honors 
petitions for others. 

"Then let us earnest cry, 

And never faint in prayer; 
He sees, He hears, and from on high 
Will make our cause His care." 

208 



AIM 

The second method in soul-winning is, 
Seek for them. If there is one thing worthy 
of imitation in the w^ork of the Master, it is 
that He sought, rather than was sought by 
the sinner. "He came to seek."^ Diamonds, 
child of God, are not found sparkling on the 
surface of the ground, as if to say, "Here I 
am, take me." Nor do we find pearls, as 
Mrs. Maud Booth said, "floating on the 
beautiful sea. If we want to find them, we 
must dive down into the depths of the 
ocean." Souls are about us, hid in the dark 
mine of unbelief, and secluded in the depths 
of vice, many of whom are abandoned by 
their friends and cursed by their compan- 
ions. There are drunkards so besotted that 
all hope has deserted them; gamblers so 
greedy, that nothing but molten gold will 
quench their avarice; lepers so rotten and 
lascivious that they pollute everything they 
touch; and sinners of every class so har- 
dened that they ridicule as well as spurn the 
offers of Divine mercy. They are drifting 
rapidly to eternal ruin, dragging others 
with them. Church -members by scores stand 

»Lukel9:10. 
H 209 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

aloof from them, wicked persons shout, 
^'Bravo!" to them, evil spirits push them 
forward, while they in their godlessness and 
hopelessness utter that Iliad of woes, "No 
man cared for my soul.''^ O my brother, 
O my sister, there's not a soul so vile, so 
low, so destitute of what we call character, 
but what yearns to be better. Then let us 

"... Go on missions of mercy, 

Following Christ from day unto day ; 

Cheering the faint, and raising the fallen, 

Pointing the lost to Jesus the Way." 

The third method is, Plead ivith them. 
Interest is shown by earnestness, and "earn- 
estness alone,'' said Carlyle, "makes life 
eternity." Petitions God-ward for one 
should be answered as far as possible by 
pleading with that one. Many who listen to 
earnest prayers in public are often saying 
with Job in private, "Who is he that will 
plead with me?"^ A good, earnest, practi- 
cal, personal talk may do more than a dozen 
sermons, or the loan of a dozen books. Of 
McCheyne it is said, He would plead as if 
he were dying to have men saved. Old Doc- 

»Ps. 142:4. 'Job 13: 19. 

210 



AIM 

tor Bunting would sob and weep as he 
pleaded passionately for his fashionable 
congregation in Manchester to forsake their 
sins. When on his death-bed, William E. 
Gladstone said, in tender earnestness, to 
Lord Roseberry: "Roseberry, take care of 
your soul ; take care of your soul." And of 
Paul we read, "I ceased not to warn every 
one night and day with tears."^ Oh, for 
such an interest as prompts one to plead 
earnestly and gently ! 

"Weep o'er the erring one. 
Lift up the fallen, 
Tell them of Jesus, 
The Mighty to save." 

The fourth method.is, Prove to them. In- 
terest, emotion, earnestness is not enough. 
Unconverted persons want proof of what we 
say. "Prove all things,"^ said the great 
evangelistic apostle. "He assayed to go,"^ 
is said of David, "for he had not proved it." 
And no one should undertake to capture any 
sinful Goliath unless he is able and ready 
"to give an answer to every man that asketh 
a reason of the hope that is in him."* 

»Acts20:31. •!. Thess. 5:21. •!. Sam. 17:39. *I. Pet 3: 16 
211 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

This proof must be a biblical-experimental 
one. God's Word "is quick and powerful 
... a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart." And "the great central evi- 
dence of Christianity," as Prof. L. F. 
Stearns calls personal experience, makes the 
Bible its foundation. What the weather is, 
the thermometer proves, and what the Bible 
teaches, experience corroborates. Does it 
teach original sin, and does not experience 
prove we are sinful ? 

Merle d' Aubigne, the famous church his- 
torian, tells how Robert Haidane, after ex- 
pounding the Epistle to the Romans in his 
Geneva class, won him by such proof. 
"Pointing with his finger to the passage in 
my French Bible," said d' Aubigne, "he 
opened up to me the fifth chapter of Ro- 
mans. ^Yes,' I said, ^I see clearly that orig- 
inal sin is proclaimed in the Scriptures.' 
Then raising his hand and pointing to me, 
he said, ^But do you see it in your own 
heart?' That was the thunderbolt," said the 
historian, "which sent me to the foot of the 
cross of Christ." 



212 



AIM 

Does the Bible enlighten the mind, com- 
fort the heart, give hope to the soul, and ex- 
perience not show it? Just before President 
Lincoln's tragic death Joshua Fry Speed 
visited him and found him reading the Bi- 
ble." "Glad to see you so profitably en- 
gaged," said Mr. Speed. "Yes, I am prof- 
itably engaged," replied Mr. Lincoln, with a 
deep and solemn emphasis. "Well," rejoined 
Speed, "if you have recovered from your 
skepticism, I have not." Then, looking with 
a wistful and tender solicitude into Speed's 
face, and placing his hand on his shoulder, 
Lincoln slowly said, "You are wrong, Speed. 
Take all of that Book upon reason that you 
can, and the balance upon faith, and I am 
sure you will live and die a happier and a 
better man." 

Is not the Bible authoritative and only 
inspiring to those who obey it? "I do not 
believe the things contained in the Bible," 
said Thomas Erskine, "because I believe it 
to be inspired, but I believe in its inspira- 
tion because I have found the truth of the 
great things recorded in it." What better 



213 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

commentary on God's Word than such ex- 
perience? 

Prove in your dealing with souls, with 
Bible in your hand, what it says, and what it 
means to those out of Christ. Show them 
how they may come, and how others have 
come to Christ, and if any objections arise 
which deal with the facts of your experi- 
ence, follow the example of Isaac Newton 
when Dr. Edmund Halley railed against 
the Bible. "Doctor Halley," said he, "I am 
always glad to hear you speak of astronomy, 
or mathematics ; for these are subjects which 
you have studied and understand; but you 
should not talk of Christianity, for you have 
never tested it. I have, and I am certain 
you know nothing about it." 

It is biblical-experimental proof intelli- 
gent people need. God's messages on the 
end of the tongue, at the tips of the fingers, 
and supported by Job's "know,"^ and Da- 
vid's "this I know,"2 and Peter's "I know of 
a surety."^ Such will convince, and eventu- 
ally, by Christ, convert. Then, like Isaac 
Watts, in return they will sing, 

» Job 19:25. •Ps.56:9. "Acts 12:11. 
214 



AIM 

^*I love the volume of Thy Word ; 
What light and joy its leaves afford 

To souls benighted and distressed! 
Thy precepts guide my doubtful way; 
Thy fear forbids my feet to stray ; 
Thy promise leads my heart to rest." 



215 



NEGLIGENCE 



CHAPTER X. 

In the providence of God's reviving grace^ 
there is a specific work for every Christian 
to do. None can be excused in its promo- 
tion, and all who excuse themselves are cul- 
pable before God. It is faithfulness in our 
relation to others. If God thought the souls 
of men worth dying for, then we who claim 
Him as "Our Father,"^ should think them 
worth caring for. 

Not long since a fireman on one of the Chi- 
cago express trains saved several hundred 
passengers from death or injury. Between 
Binghampton, New York, and Susquehanna, 
Pennsylvania, the train was making a mile 
a minute. Henry Kingsley, the engineer, 
while looking out of the cab had the top of 
his head cut off by a mail-catching crane. 
Cowgill, the fireman, was not aware of the 
accident, but the fearful speed and the rock- 

»Lukell:2. 

217 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

ing of the huge locomotive frightened him. 
Faster and faster went the train, and the 
fireman was compelled to hold on to the 
cab-railing to keep his footing. As they 
neared Susquehanna no warning whistle 
rent the air. By this time, Cowgill, suspect- 
ing something was wrong, called to Kings- 
ley across the boiler. Getting no response, 
he undertook to work his way round to the 
engineer's side of the cab. Three times he 
was nearly thrown down. After a struggle 
that seemed to take hours, he stepped across 
the motionless body of the engineer. He 
leaped to the lever, threw it back, reversed 
the locomotive, and applied the air-brakes. 
For several seconds the wheels hung and the 
train slid on. At last the locomotive 
stopped, and hundreds of lives were saved. 
The supreme moment of his life had come, 
and, with bravery, he embraced it. 

Not a year, month, or week passes but 
supreme moments present themselves to 
us in which we can point some one to the 
"Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of 
the world,"^ or at least warn them to "flee 

»John 1:29. 

218 



NEGLIGENCE 

from the wrath to come."^ Alexander once 
discharged a philosopher who had been a 
long time with him, saying : "So long thou 
hast been with me, without ever reproving 
me, which must needs be thy fault; for 
either thou sawest nothing in me worthy of 
reproof, which argues thy ignorance ; or else 
thou durst not reprove me, which argues thy 
unfaithfulness." God goes farther, say- 
ing, 

^^When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt 
surely die; and thou givest him not warning, 
nor speakest to warn the wicked from his 
wicked way, to save his life; the same wick- 
ed man shall die in his iniquity; hut his 
Mood will I require at thine hand. Yet if 
thou ivarn the wicked, and he turn not from 
his wickedness, nor from his ivicked way, he 
shall die in his iniquity; hut thou hast deliv- 
ered thy souV^^ 

Doubtless no truth is more clearly taught, 
if not universally recognized, than personal 
responsibility. "Who sins, and I am not to 
blame!" cries Lucy Larcom. "Am I my 
brother's keeper?"^ must be answered in the 

»Matt. 3: 7. >Ezek. 3; 18, 19. 'Gen. 4:9. 
219 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

affirmative. If not, license is the truest lib- 
erty, law and government unholy oppres- 
sion, hell, heaven, and religion a delusion. 
"None of us,"^ says Paul, "liveth to him- 
self." We bless or blight. We are architects 
of others' character, beautifying or distort- 
ing it. We are civil engineers, laying out 
the route for their eternal destiny. 

Daniel Webster, being asked what was the 
greatest thought he ever had, answered, 
"Personal responsibility"; and "anything 
which destroys or transfers it," said Henry 
Drummond, "cannot but be injurious in its 
moral tendency, and useless in itself." To 
the limit of our power and influence we are 
responsible for the lives of our fellow-men. 
Failing or neglecting to wield that influence 
and use that power, we become particeps 
criminis with those who conspire to debase 
and destroy. The word of Amos was strong 
and bitter upon those who lay upon their 
beds of ivory, and ate the lambs of the flock, 
but who grieved not for the affliction of Jo- 
seph. "Curse ye Meroz,"^ said the angel of 
the Lord, "curse ye bitterly the inhabitants 

» Rom. 14:7. «Judg. 5:23. 

220 



NEGLIGENCE 

thereof: because they came not to the help 
of the Lord." It was because of this Charles 
G. Finney went from place to place, to use 
his own words, with a burden "that crushed 
me." James Brainard Taylor's longing 
for the salvation of others was so intense 
and overwhelming that at times it deprived 
him of physical power. The question is not 
one of character or condition, but souls. 
Not a question of likes and dislikes, but re- 
sponsibility to save these souls. To shirk 
such is to sanction their evil, to hinder rath- 
er than help, to shut the door to heaven 
rather than open it. Indifference is in- 
human, negligence is criminal. Oh, that the 
rank and file of our churches would awake 
to a sense of their responsibility enough to 
impel them to an active, aggressive, personal 
effort. Fewer souls would then be lost, evil 
would not be so rampant, the church would 
be more useful, and God would be more 
greatly glorified. Oh, may we awake to the 
fact that the poorest of the poor, the weakest 
of the weak, the lowest of the low have a 
claim on our sympathy, our intelligence, our 



221 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

affection, and that our orthodoxy to God is 
no greater than our orthodoxy to our fel- 
lows, be they social lights or social outcasts* 
How true, we cannot 

"... Toil in vain; 

Cold, heat, and moist, and dry- 
Shall foster and mature the grain 
For garners in the sky." 

An Awful Accountability. 

Not only does God make Christians re- 
sponsible agents in the work of saving souls^ 
but He holds them accountable if they neg- 
lect to warn them. "If thou givest him not 
warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked 
from his wicked way, to save his life; the 
same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; 
but his blood will I require at thine hand.'' 
What a startling, terrible, yet reasonable 
declaration of the Almighty! 

Civil courts hold railroad corporations^ 
business firms, and employers amenable 
when an employee is injured or killed by 
carelessness on their part. Not infrequent- 
ly are they also compelled to pay a certain 
sum as compensation to the surviving mem- 

222 



NEGLIGENCE 

bers of the family. According to the verdict 
of the body which investigated the fearful 
"General Slocum'' disaster in New York 
harbor, by which nearly a thousand persons 
lost their lives, officers and crew in charge 
of the steamboat were negligent. Had they 
been regularly trained in the fire drill, the 
report states, the fire would have been extin- 
guished and not a single precious life lost. 
The grand jury in Huntsville, Alabama, in 
investigating a lynching in that town, rec- 
ommended the impeachment of the mayor, 
the sheriff, and the chief of police for willful 
neglect of duty and incompetence. Great 
question ! Should God demand less when a 
soul is permitted to go to ruin without our 
protestation or our effort to save? When 
Jacob's sons were arraigned before their un- 
recognized brother in Egypt, and a demand 
was made that Benjamin be brought to him, 
Keuben turned and said, "Spake I not unto 
you, saying, Do not sin against the child; 
and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold 
also his blood is required."^ 

A serious obligation is ours, fellow-work- 

»Gen. 42; 22. 

223 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

er, is it not? One of two things we must do : 
have the blood of others on our hands, or 
so warn them as to avert it. To be a Chris- 
tian is to assume responsibility and account- 
ability. Parents who fail to do their best to 
bring their children to God are responsible 
and accountable; teachers are likewise re- 
sponsible and accountable for the lessons 
they teach their pupils ; church-members for 
the influence they exert, and the pastor for 
every member of his flock, to the extent of 
faithful preaching, honest living, and self- 
sacrificing service. 

When an oath is taken in Japan, blood is 
drawn from the arm to seal it. The witness 
iswears over his own blood. But what is 
that, compared to Pilate with Christ's blood 
on his hands, and Herod with that of James', 
and Nero with that of Agrippina, his moth- 
er, Octavia, his wife, and hundreds of Chris- 
tian martyrs ; and Charles IX. with that of 
fifteen thousand Parisian Huguenots, and 
Sagasta with that of General Ryan, Captain 
Fry, and nearly a hundred American sol- 
diers ; and false teachers and preachers and 



224 



NEGLIGENCE. 

those of us who may not have faithfully 
warned those of our household, our business 
associates, employees, and friends? 

It was erring Willie Wright who con- 
fessed to the writer he wanted to do better. 
Why were not the claims pressed then and 
there on the street, instead of urging him to 
come to the evening meeting? Why was 
that golden opportunity allowed to pass, 
and over his mangled remains a confession 
uttered of negligence faithfully to warn 
him? Oh, that the writer had done as a 
dying man suggested to the sweet-spirited 
Charles Simeon. He was visiting a parish- 
ioner who lay on his death-bed, and in an- 
swer to the pastor's query, "I warned you, 
what more could I have done?" he said, 
^^You never took me by the coat and held 
fast to cry unto me to flee from the wrath to 
come." 

It was during the writer's vacation at 
Asbury Park, New Jersey, a few summers 
ago that a young man was drowned. It was 
at an hour when the guards were off duty. 
He was seized with cramps and sank. A 

15 225 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

man standing on the beach saw him, and 
could easily have saved him. When asked 
why he did not, he excused himself on the 
ground, "I was afraid of spoiling my 
clothes." How the people sneered and the 
daily papers criticised him. What a mis- 
erable excuse! Yet thousands of church- 
members are doing no more. They make na 
effort, and when reproved by the minister 
of God more than one such frivolous excuse 
is on the tip of their tongue. If not before 
men, will they not be accessory before God 
to their death? 

Irresponsibility. 
To warn faithfully is to be irresponsible. 
God has further said, "If thou warn the 
wicked and he turn not from his wickedness 
. . . thou hast delivered thy soul." Among 
the ancient Egyptians, physicians Avere 
obliged by law to form their prescriptions 
in accordance with certain recipes, which 
were contained in the sacred registers, and 
which had been collected and approved by 
the most eminent men of the profession. 

226 



NEGLIGENCE. 

Should one presume to follow his own judg- 
ment in any particular, he was answerable 
for the event, and in case a patient died he 
forfeited his life. But, so long as the 
physician acted consistently with these sa- 
cred prescriptions, he was perfectly safe, no 
matter what was the result. So if the 
Christian will heed God's declarations in 
dealing with an unregenerate person he 
shall deliver his own soul and be able to 
say regarding the one lost, as Paul did to 
all, "Wherefore I take you to record, that I 
am pure from the blood of all men.''^ This 
we will do, if we 

"... Watch for souls for wliicli the Lord 
Did heavenly bliss forego, 
For souls which must forever dwell 
In raptures or in woe." 

The Christian's duty is to warn the sinner, 
the sinner's duty is to heed. If he does not, 
like Caesar, who wanted to save the life of 
Cato, all he can do or say, is, "O soul ! Why 
didst thou grudge me the honor of saving 
thy life?" That same Caesar was largely re- 
sponsible for his own death. We are told 

>Acts20:26. 

227 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

tliat he was warned by the soothsayer of the 
Senatorial conspiracy fostered by Decimus 
Brutus, but disregarding, he became a vic- 
tim to the dagger of Casca and others. 
Archias was responsible for his own death 
by thrusting a letter of warning into his 
pocket and refusing to read it while at the 
banquet, the trap laid for his assassination. 
Prince Napoleon was responsible for his 
own death. Being warned by one of the 
staff of the treacherous Zulus, he persisted 
in spending ten minutes in drinking his 
coffee. Within those ten minutes he became 
a mutilated corpse. 

In the village where the writer was or- 
dained, two men lost their lives and doubt- 
less their souls by refusing good advice. One 
was wicked, cruel, and vicious. One morn- 
ing there came in the mail a letter printed 
in red and black ink, with skull and cross- 
bones, headed, "A friend in need, is a friend 
indeed," with the words underneath, ^^Help 
us for humanity's sake." The letter re- 
counted the fiendish characteristics of the 
man, and was signed by the wife and three 



228 



NEGLIGENCE. 

boys, all of whom the writer baptized. This 
husband and step-father was forbidden, un- 
der penalty of death, to visit the home he 
had wrecked. The State Representative of 
that district informed him that his life wa« 
in jeopardy, but with a fixed determination 
he started to clean out the home. He opened 
the garden gate. A voice from the house 
bade him halt. He thrust his hand into his 
hip pocket, grasped his revolver, when the 
fire of death blazed from more than one gun, 
killing him instantly. As the writer looked 
upon his face and breast black with shot, he 
felt that that the prophet^s words were lit- 
erally fulfilled, "Whosoever heareth . . . 
and taketh not warning . . . his blood shall 
be upon his own head." 

The second was a tall, elderly farmer. 
Responding to an invitation in a religious 
service he arose, among others, requesting 
prayers. Stepping up to him, the writer 
bade him acknowledge his lost condition and 
throw himself on the mercy of God. He re- 
fused. A few years later the writer visited 
that place and was told that this man. 



229 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

when dying, called his son to the bedside, 
and said: "My son, several winters ago, 
when the preacher requested all who wished 
to be Christians to rise, I stood. I should 
have gone farther, but I did not. I 'm lost I 
I 'm lost !" and thus he died. So near the 
kingdom, but alas, so far away! Oh, the 
wail that must arise from the regions where 
hope never dawns. How true to the Record, 
"His blood" not only "shall be," but is "upon 
his own head." And to think that multi- 
tudes are still on the same way. Oh, I be- 
seech you, reader, I plead with you, stop 
them in their mad rush. Warn and plead, 
entice and enforce if it be possible, for once 
over the death-line these erring souls are 
doomed forever. 

"In that lone land of deep despair, 

No Sabbath's heavenly light shall rise, 
No God reg-ard their bitter prayer, 
No Savior call them to the skies." 

Criminal Negligence. 
It is a fact, however, in spite of responsi- 
bility and accountability, that there is a 
criminal negligence on the part of many pro- 
fessed Christians. No words have fallen 

230 



NEGLIGENCE. 

from the lips of the Almighty with more 
weight than these on which this chapter is 
based, If "thou givest him not warning, nor 
speakest to warn the wicked" ; and yet how 
many actually neglect to do this very thing. 
If so, violation of this "serious trust," as 
Shakespeare said, "is a crime." 

Napoleon used to say, "There is a certain 
crisis in every battle ; ten or fifteen minutes, 
on which the issue of battle depends. To 
gain this, is victory; to lose, is defeat." 
^^Who will help me to die? Who will tell 
me how to die?" Such were the words that 
rang in the writer's ears. Walking the 
street, a lady approached and said : "Please 

go and visit Mrs. . She is near death's 

door, and is crying, ^I must die; I cannot 
live. Who will help me to die? Who will 
tell me how to die?' " It was a critical mo- 
ment, but a seeming hindrance arose. Oh, 
these seeming hindrances, which are some- 
times promenaded for an excuse, but which, 
as Pope said, are "more terrible than a lie ; 
for an excuse is a lie guarded." A few min- 
utes elapsed. Only a few, but precious were 



231 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

they. The writer hastened. It was too late. 
On opening the door, lamentations of wail- 
ing children fell upon his ears. The woman 
was dead. How frequently, intentionally 
and consciously many of us neglect to re- 
prove and help our sinful friends. It is fail- 
ure to do so that God calls our attention to. 
It was a beautiful casket in which lay the 
body of an only daughter, seventeen years 
of age. From the mansion to the cemetery 
was only a short distance, and the mourners 
walked slowly and sadly behind the car- 
riages which contained the relatives. From 
the gate the casket was borne by six young 
men to the side of the open grave, where it 
was reverently placed. It was a sad funeral, 
as the girl was as brilliant as gay. She had 
been ill four days, and delirious from first 
seizure until three hours before death, when 
she became conscious. The hymn, the pray- 
er, even the benediction were as mournful 
as the sounds of the winds on the darkest 
night at sea. The people stood silent while 
the grave was slowly filled, and then turned 
to pass away. Suddenly the teacher of the 



232 



NEGLIGENCE. 

young woman broke into almost hysterical 
weeping. The pastor perceiving her grief, 
went at once to her home to comfort her. 
"Why," said he, "did you manifest such un- 
usual sorrow?" She answered, "A month 
ago I felt impressed to speak to her of her 
soul, and of the duty to her Savior, but I 
postponed it, and now she has gone." Then, 
turning to the pastor, she said, "I hope you 
have spoken to her." He was silent, but 
after a while said, "I, too, must confess my 
sin. When I saw how thoughtless she was 
becoming, how much more interested in friv- 
olous things, I also was impressed to speak 
to her of the things of the Spirit ; but I post- 
poned it, and she is gone." Taking leave of 
her, the pastor went to the girFs parents. 
Of them he tenderly asked if they had 
ever conversed with her about yielding her 
heart to God. The answer was, "On her last 
birthday we remembered that she was not in 
the kingdom, and said we must speak to her ; 
but other things came up and we neglected 
it, and now she is gone." Gone! Gone! To 
witness against parents, pastor, and teacher 



233 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

has she gone. What an errand! What a 
testimony ! 

O fellow-Christian, what has your life 
been? What is it to-day? Are you at "ease 
in Zion,"^ incurring the displeasure of our 
loving Father in allowing others around you 
to rush hellward, and your voice, your hand, 
not lifted to impede their progress? If you 
are, for Jesus' sake bestir yourself, for the 
assignment of a throne in heaven or a dun- 
geon in hell to some soul depends on you. 
Hold back, I beg you, by prayer, the stroke 
of the destroying angel, and make appeal for 
the reception of God's Son who brings "life 
and immortality to light through the gos- 
pel."^ Do it not, and your guilty ear shall 
catch the note of reproof, your soul shall be 
rent in anguish by the lightning of God's 
displeasure, and your hand shall be stained 
with the blood of others. Do it, and bene- 
dictions exceeding in brilliancy those of 
Idngly crowns shall flash upon your brow. 
Do it, and the years of eternity will roll on 
in beauty and glory and you will find your- 
self within an infinite circumference of per- 

" Amos 6: 1. «II. Tim. 1 : 10. 

234 



NEGLIGENCE. 

feet action and happiness, of which Jesus, 
the "King of kings,"^ will be the center. 
Till then, 

"Rescue the perishing. 

Duty demands it ; 
Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide; 

Back to the narrow way, 

Patiently win them; 
Tell the poor wand'rer a Savior has died." 

»Bev.l9:16. 



AN INCENTIVE 



CHAPTER XL 

Sin Jnctnmt to a IBUbibal 

To WIN souls for Christ is commended 
and compensated by the One who made 
them. It is the alphabet of the Christian 
spirit. The business of the Christian is to 
make others Christians. Many persons, 
however, have a mania for accumulating 
riches, and achieving honor to the exclusion 
of the noblest occupation of life, which 
brings the greatest reward. 

A duke is said to have placed a stone in 
the road leading to his palace. He then 
withdrew to note the action of those who 
passed by it. People on horseback, in car- 
riages, and on foot came and went. All 
stopped to look at it. Some merely won- 
dered why it was there, and others said it 
had no right there, but not one turned a 
hand to remove it. After a while the duke 
summoned the people of the neighborhood 
237 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

to meet him at his house, and when assem- 
bled, he led them to the place where the 
stone lay. Then he removed it. Underneath 
was found a box filled with treasure, and on 
it was engraved, "This box and contents are 
for him who removes this stone." That ob- 
struction was a blessing in disguise. Had 
the people known it, they would have scram- 
bled to see which would have been fortunate 
enough to secure it. 

Unregenerated souls are obstructions to 
the establishment of the kingdom of Christ 
on earth. They impede the progress of the 
gospel and are dangerous things in the way 
of the church. "One sinner,"^ said Solomon, 
"destroyeth much good." Hence every 
Christian is under obligation to do his part 
to see that such is transformed into a ben- 
ediction. The stone in the road might have 
filled a place in the building, the sinner a 
place in God's temple. By winning him to 
Christ, glory is given to the Master, happi- 
ness and usefulness to the saved one, and a 
rich recompense is laid up for himself. 

»Eccl. 9:18. 



238 



AN INCENTIVE 

"Oh, for that power which melts the heart 
And lifts the soul on high ! 
Where sin and grief and death depart, 
And pleasures never die." 

'^He that tvinneth souls is wiseJ'^ ^^They 
that he wise shall shine as the brightness of 
the firmament; and they that turn many to 
righteousness as the stars for ever and 
everJ'^ 

What an incentive! Luther was once in- 
vited to join in a chase, but instead, he 
caught the hunted hare and hid it under his 
cloak, because the chase reminded him of the 
way in which Satan hunts for souls. Soul- 
winning is soul-saving. Said Ferdinand 
Sheverea, "The first blessing was when 
Christ saved your soul, and the second 
blessing was when God used you to save 
some other soul." Soul-saving gives happi- 
ness to the one who saves and the one saved. 
God, however, holds forth an eternal reward 
of honor, of exalted position, of luminous 
distinction, as an inducement to bring souls 
to Christ, — "shall shine as the brightness of 
the firmament . . . and as the stars for ever 
and ever." 

iProv. 11:30. « Dan. 12:3. 

239 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

To win souls demands wisdom. Yea, in 
all the range of human influence nothing de- 
mands more. As the soul of man is the most 
valuable thing in the world, the wisdom that 
wins it must of necessity be of the highest 
and noblest quality. 

The word "wise" is from the same root as 
"wit" — to know. In ancient language, a 
"wit" meant a "knower," one versed in 
knowledge, an erudite man; hence a wise 
man is a knowing man. In the margin, the 
Avord "teacheth" is substituted for "wise," 
and the purpose of religious teaching is, pri- 
marily^, "instruction unto salvation." To 
teach effectively, one must know more than 
the one taught. "Knowledge" is what we 
know, "wisdom" is what we make of it. 
Paul speaks of certain men who had "a zeal 
of God, but not according to knowledge."^ 
And 

^'Knowledge, when wisdom is too weak to guide her. 
Is like a headstrong horse that throws the rider." 

Zeal is necessary. It may or may not be a 
blessing. "Absalom aspersed his father's 
government as a stirrup to help him into the 

» Rom. 10:2. 

240 



AN INCENTIVE 

saddle," but it was his curse. There is a 
zeal like that of Jehu's, who said, ^'Conie 
with me, and see my zeal for the Lord."^ 
Too many have zeal without being zealous 
for the Lord. Self-consuming zeal for Christ 
is the only commendable kind. "It is good," 
said the apostle, "to be zealously affected al- 
ways in a good thing."^ Zeal, without 
knowledge, however, is detrimental. Ii> is 
like a horse without a bridle, a ship without 
a rudder. Barrow has declared that noth- 
ing has wrought "more prejudice to relig- 
ion, or brought more disparagement upon 
truth than boisterous and unsensible zeal." 
"If I had to choose between knowledge with- 
out zeal, and zeal without knowledge," said 
Moody, "I would take the latter." But zeal 
with knowledge — biblical knowledge — is 
augmentative. If "knowledge is power," 
y.ealous biblical knowledge is irresistible 
power. One may be wise in the sciences, yet 
without this knowledge he is practically 
helpless. He may be ignorant of the sciences, 
yet, with this knowledge, successful. This 
knowledge of God's Word is the most effec- 

>II. Kings 10: 16. 'Gal. 4: la 
IC 241 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

tive instrument used in the conversion of 
sinners. It should be stored in the heart, 
and at the tongue's end ready for use. 

The word "wise" means "prudent." In 
the Hebrew it is sakel^ and the essential idea 
is that of "a clear eye, with a clear outlook." 
Have you ever noticed how discreetly the 
successful agent plies his calling? He reads 
human nature like a book, and adapts him- 
self accordingly. Time, place, conditions 
are all taken into consideration. His pru- 
dence is characterized by sound judgment, 
discernment, or discrimination. The wise 
soul-winner will not interrupt a man in his 
business, at his meals, or when in company. 
To do so is to make his knowledge useless 
and his religion contemptible. He will be 
"wise as a serpent"^ in his efforts to cap- 
ture his prey for God. His clear eye will 
wait for a clear outlook. 

The word "wise" means skill. The 
more important the work, the more skill nec- 
essary. It is no use to put a blacksmith to 
mend the mainspring of a watch, or a quack 
to perform a difficult operation. It is out of 

> Matt. 10:16. 

242 



AN INCENTIVE 

their line. They would do more harm than 
good. An awkward, careless Christian 
worker is apt to hinder rather than benefit. 
Tact must be used, as well as talent. In 
speaking of President McKinley after his 
assassination, one periodical said: "The 
best gift he had, next to honesty of purpose, 
the love for political life, and integrity of 
character, was tact." Tact may succeed 
without talent ; talent cannot succeed with- 
out tact. Talent knows what to do and say ; 
tact, how to say and do it. Henry Ward 
Beecher tells how two men went on an 
evangelistic mission. One was a Quaker, the 
other a young man. Both knew how to 
preach, but when the Quaker preached, he 
was listened to with rapt attention, and 
good results followed his efforts; but when 
the young man preached, the congregation 
showed an evil disposition and resented his 
words. Not able to understand the con- 
trast, the young man asked his Quaker 
friend the reason. "I will tell thee," said 
he. "Thee says, ^If you do so and so, you 
shall surely go to hell.' I say, ^If you don't 



243 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

do so and so, you '11 surely go to lieayen.' 
We say the same thing, but we say it in a 
different way.'' Tact is touch, and to come 
in touch with others, so as to win them to 
Christ, sympathy must be exhibited, and 
earnest, tender pleading indulged. 

The word "wise" is also connected with 
the word "winsome." To win, one needs to 
be winsome. Gentle manners, kind tones, 
loving expressions must be employed, with 
unyielding firmness. Harshness impels men 
to turn and fight. Argument and scolding 
repel. One need not tell what he believes, 
but what God says. "Were you ever a fish- 
erman?" asked an aged Christian of a stu- 
dent of divinity. "Yes, I have fished with 
the rod at the rocks," was his reply. "Oh, 
but I mean with the net?" "No, I never 
did." "Well, you need to leai^ it. And do 
you know that when it thunders, the fish 
go to the bottom of the sea?" "Yes, I know 
that to be a fact." "Well, my young friend, 
there are very man}^ ministers who don't 
seem to think of that." It is not like hail, 
snow, hurricane and tempest that the gra- 



244 



AN INCENTIVE 

cions Word of God comes effectively to the 
hearts of men. The words that break hearts 
come from hearts that are broken. Moses 
said, "My doctrines shall drop as the rain, 
my speech shall distill as the dew, as the 
small rain upon the tender herb, and as the 
showers upon the grass ; because I will pub- 
lish the name of the Lord ; ascribe ye great- 
ness unto our God."^ 

A Day Scene. 

All true Christians are heirs to eternal 
life, but only the winner of souls is promised 
to "shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment." All children of God will be honored, 
but the highest distinction will be accorded 
those who effect the conversion of others. 
"Heaven's gate is shut to him who comes 
alone,'' sings Whittier, but magnificent the 
glory beyond human comprehension that 
shall characterize those who bring others 
with them. 

The brightness of the firmament refers to 
the day. What a sight to look into the azure 
sky, with its streaks of gold and silver, inter- 

»Deut32:2, 3. 

245 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

mingled with variegated blue, and its soft, 
snowy, white peaks like chalk cliffs rising 
from the ocean billows ! What a brilliancy 
all round ! The shades of green in trees and 
flowers; the landscape fairly dazzling with 
brightness. What is the cause of all this? 
It is his majesty the sun, wheeling his 
chariot across the sky. You may wonder at 
his eminence when you consider that the 
earth on which we live is only eight thou- 
sand miles in diameter, while the sun is 
eight hundred and eighty-five thousand, six 
hundred and eighty miles, or one and a half 
million times larger than our globe, and in 
matter of substance would balance three 
hundred and fifty-two thousand worlds like 
ours. Is it any wonder that our firmament 
is bright as he smiles upon it? Amazing 
distinctness for the winner of souls ! 

Sapor, the ancient king of Persia, had an 
insatiable ambition for honor. He titled 
himself, "Brother of the Sun and Moon, and 
Friend to the Planets.'^ To give truth to 
this appellation, he caused to be erected a 
magnificent throne, having for a footstool a 



24G 



AN INCENTIVE 

globe of glass, on which were artistically 
represented the motions of the sun, moon, 
and stars ; and to sit clothed in royal robes, 
and crowned with glittering diadems, above 
this fantastic heaven, was the highest pin- 
nacle of exaltation to which he could attain. 
What was vain pomp with him shall be 
reality to the wise soul-winner. He shall 
actually sit above the real suns of the glow- 
ing firmament, clothed in royal, glittering 
vestments of heaven, crowned with star- 
gemmed crowns of purest gold, placed upon 
his head by the hand of the "King of 
kings."^ Do you wish thus to shine? 

Souls Multiplied — "Many/^ 
Greater glory than shining like the firma- 
ment may be the Christian's. The more 
work for God the greater the distinction. 
^^They that turn many to righteousness, as 
the stars for ever and ever. He is wisest 
that brings the greatest number of souls to 
Christ. "The amount of wisdom," said Fin- 
ney, "is to be decided, other things being 
equal, by the number of cases in which he is 

* Rev. 17:14. 

247 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

successful in converting sinners." A quack 
may bring about a scare, but sober and judi- 
cious people Judge of the skill of the phy- 
sician by the uniformity of his success in 
overcoming scares and diseases. The most 
skillful is the one who saves the greatest 
number. When Sir Astley Cooper visited 
Paris, he was asked by the surgeon en chef 
of the empire how many times he had per- 
formed a certain wonderful feat of surgery. 
He replied, ^^Thirteen times.'' "Ah, but 
Monsieur, I have done him one hundred and 
sixty times." "How many times did you 
save life?" inquired the curious Frenchman, 
after he had looked into the blank amaze- 
ment of Sir Astley's face. "I," said the En- 
glishman, "saved eleven out of the thirteen. 
How many did you save out of the one hun- 
dred and sixty?" "Ah, Monsieur, I lose 
dem all, but de operation was very bril- 
liant." Had a reward been given, which 
would have deserved it? 

Life-saving is the most brilliant work un- 
der the sun. The writer once witnessed a 
thrilling exhibition of this by a Unite<^ 



248 



AN INCENTIVE 

States life-saving crew. An inexperienced 
man was fishing with hook and line from an 
old rickety boat. He was Bjccessful in 
catching a fish, which so excited him that 
leaping upon the seat and giving one quick 
jerk to land the fish in the boat, he lost 
his balance and fell overboard. Excitement 
prevailed on shore. The fisherman rose, but 
his boat was beyond reach. He struggled, 
but sank. In less time than it takes to write 
it, the life-saving crew had launched their 
boat and were lifting the oars. Quick, 
steady, even, strong strokes were made, and 
just as the man disappeared for the third 
time, a member of the crew in the prow 
dropped his oar and, rising, dived beneath 
the water. On rising he held the limp fisher- 
man in his arms. Both were rescued. Think 
ye there was applause and congratulations? 
The huzzas were vociferous. But what of 
him that saves a soul from death and hides 
a multitude of sins? Think ye not angels 
will applaud? 

The incentive to shine like stars depends 
on turning "many to righteousness," or to 



249 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

be right or righteous. This can only be 
by turning their thoughts, affections, and 
lives to Christ. The Christian by his word, 
pen, life, and unconscious influence can 
bring about this change in others. C. C. 
McCabe, as he grasped the hand of a hack- 
man who had conveyed him to his destina- 
tion, said, "Good-night ; I hope to meet you 
in glory.'' About midnight his host knocked 
at his chamber door and said, "Chaplain, 
that hackman has come back, and says that 
he must see you." When the rough-looking 
man, with whip in hand, was conducted to 
his presence, he said, "If I meet you in 
glory, I have got to turn around. I have 
come to ask you to pray with me.'' The life 
of Fenelon was so Christlike that Lord 
Peterborough, who was staying with him for 
a few days, declared, as he left, "If I stay 
here much longer I shall be a Christian in 
spite of myself" ; and this, when not a word 
had been spoken or a solicitation given to 
become a Christian. Rowland Hill once in- 
troduced Doctor Jenner, the discoverer of 
vaccination, to a nobleman, in these words : 



250 



AN INCENTIVE 

^^ Allow me to present to your lordship my 
friend, Doctor Jenner, who has lately been 
the means of saving more lives than any 
other man." Doctor Jenner bowed and said 
with great earnestness, "Ah, would, like 
you, I could say. Souls !" Souls ! That 's 
it! Souls multiplied. It is those who win 
such that shall shine like stars. 

A Night Scene. 
If the day is beautiful, so is the night. 
Under its cover of darkness wicked men 
commit depredations, but "night unto night 
showeth wisdom."^ What an exhibition of 
grandeur in the firmament above ! Constel- 
lations of stars — great galaxy of heaven! 
Majestic monitors! As they twinkle they 
seem to urge and incite us to perform the 
greatest work known to man. Night, 

^^In her starry shade 
Of dim and solitary loveliness 
I learn the language of another world." 

The wise soul-winner is to shine like the 
brightness of the firmament, the many-soul 
winner like the stars. This wonderful shin- 

»Ps.l9:2. 

251 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

ing depends on the number of souls won to 
Christ. "One star differeth from another in 
glory," so all glorified saints will shine, but 
some in greater degree. Though the sun is 
a star, yet for majesty, brightness, and 
length of days, it is inferior to some others. 
The reason he has such a controlling pres- 
ence and influence is because he is only 
ninety-five million miles from us, while 
Alpha Centauri, the nearest fixed star in 
the southern hemisphere, is computed to be 
nineteen thousand million miles away. The 
pole-star system is more so, being fifteen 
times as remote, or two hundred and eighty- 
five thousand million miles, and it shines 
with a luster equal to that of eighty-six of 
our suns. Others, like Vega, which emits 
the light of three hundred and forty-four of 
our suns ; Capella, four hundred and thirty ; 
Arcturus, five hundred and sixteen, are 
brighter, yet farther away, till at last we 
reach the great star Alcyone, in the constel- 
lation of the Pleiades, which floods the celes- 
tial spaces with a brilliancy twelve thou- 
sand times that of the ponderous orb which 



AN INCENTIVE 

lights and controls our solar system. The 
reason that it does not seem more luminous 
to us is because its distance is twenty-five 
million diameters of the earth's orbit. 
These are figures that confound the human 
intellect, and leave it in a benumbed state. 

The illustration, however, is another evi- 
dence of God's wisdom. Say, servant of 
Christ, would you like to shine like a star, 
yea, like the stars? Then win many souls to 
Christ. Better than this, he that wins souls 
shall not merely shine, but shall shine for 
^'ever and ever." The world decays with 
age, while kingdoms have risen and fallen 
the stars shine on with brilliancy. Not all, 
however. The moon is a reflected, rather 
than a self-giving light. Thirteen fixed 
stars, according to astronomers, have dis- 
appeared in the last few centuries, and by 
and by the stars shall disappear. God said, 
"I will cover the heaven, and make the stars 
thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a 
cloud, and the moon shall not give her 
light."^ Joel said, "The sun and moon shall 
be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their 

>Ezek. 32:7. 

253 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

shining."^ And John, looking into the fu- 
ture, saw the sun ^^blaek as sackcloth of 
hair, and the moon become as blood, and the 
stars of heaven f ell."^ But God declares 
that after all these failures the great soul- 
winner shall shine with undiminished glory 
for "ever and ever." I ask. Is not this won- 
derful? Should it not incite each of us to 
labor with more earnestness, day and night, 
to enlarge our list of souls won to Christ? 
What a stake offered ! No wonder Paul had 
such a passion in this line! No wonder 
Erskine Mason cried, "Great God, what a 
salary for a Christian minister V^ 

No Excuse. 
So wide is the need, so urgent the demand, 
so great the responsibility, so sure the suc- 
cess that there is no excuse for not having 
this wisdom and success. Mark Guy Pearse, 
speaking through Daniel Quoram, says : "It 
isn't those who try, but those who try the 
right way — the wise — that shall shine as 
the stars. An' as for wisdom, for all it is 
the rarest thing in the world, bless the Lord, 

»Joel2:lO. « Re v. 6:12, 13. 

254 



AN INCENTIVE 

we can get so much of it as ever we mind to, 
and all for nothing. *If any of you/^ never 
mind how dull a scholar he is, or how big 
a fool, "^if any of you lack wisdom let him 
ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, 
and upbraideth not, and it shall be given 
him.' " 

Failure to win souls usually arises from 
unfaithfulness or indifference. Too many 
of us may some day feel like the old painter 
of Siena. After standing for a long time 
in silent meditation before his canvas, with 
hands crossed meekly on his breast and 
head bent reverently low, he turned away, 
saying, "May God forgive me that I did not 
do it better !'' "There will soon be a crown 
on my head bright above the sun," said a 
young lady church-member when departing 
this life, "but there will be no star in it; 
I have done nothing." A young man lay 
dying. He had been saved a short time 
before. As he faced death, a look of sadness 
crossed his countenance, and to the question 
of a friend, exclaimed: "No, I am not 
afraid ; Jesus saves me now ! But oh, must 

» James 1:5. 

255 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

I go, and empty-handed?" Saved, but not 
to shine like stars. ' 

"Must I go and empty-handed? 
Must I meet my Savior so ? 
Not one soul with which to greet him; 
Must I empty-handed go ?" 

A Christian young lady dreamed she 
stood in heaven, where her crown was shown 
to her, but her joy was marred by seeing no 
stars. She inquired the reason, and found 
it was because she had led no soul to Christ. 
Upon gaining consciousness she set herself 
to the work of the Master with a devotion 
and zeal never before manifested. 

"Oh, ye saints, arouse, be earnest ! 
Up and work while yet 't is day, 
Ere the night of death o'ertake you. 
Strive for souls while still you may." 

On the streets of Paris a large crowd had 
been attracted by the sweet singing of a 
little girl. A carriage passing, stopped. 
After a few moments the door opened, and 
out stepped a gentleman. Pushing his way 
to the child, he questioned her. He learned 
that her parents were poor, and that she was 



256 



AN INCENTIVE 

compelled to sing to help in the support of 
the family. "Would you not like to go with 
me and be nicely dressed and educated?'^ 
asked the tender-hearted gentleman. The 
child acknowledged she would. Taking her 
by the hand, the friend in need led her 
through the crowd, placed her in the car- 
riage, and drove to her wretched home, se- 
cured the consent of her needy parents, and 
then took her to his mansion as his own. 
Twenty years later, when Madame Rachel 
shone without a rival in stage circles, this 
gentleman gave her a reception. Being 
asked by one in the company what led him 
to take such an interest in the girl, he re- 
marked, "The day I heard her sing, I saw 
upon her brow a beautiful star, and, being 
impressed, I was constrained to take her." 

There 's not a soul but may shine with the 
luster of a star. If one is constrained to 
save a soul that it thus may shine, how much 
more than an additional star may be in his 
crown — that, like a star, he might shine for 
ever? Ah, servant of God, what nobler 
work and greater rewards are there than in 

17 257 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

saving souls? Go, spend and be spent, that 
ye might shine and aid others to shine. Go,^ 
interrogating and aspiring, 

"Will there be any stars in my crown 
When at ev'ning the sun goeth down ? 
When I wake with the blest in the mansions of rest^ 
Will there be any stars in my crown? 

"In the strength of the Lord let me labor and pray. 
Let me watch as a winner of souls ; 
That bright stars may be mine in the glorious dar 
When His praise like the sea billows roll." 



258 



PEKSONAL WORK 



CHAPTER XII. 

)9n:0onal mtftli in a flebit^al 

Nothing has been more divinely ordained 
and gloriously blessed in the extension of 
the kingdom of grace than personal work. 
Eternal laurels crown no brow unless 
earned. "What a man can do/' said Carlyle, 
"is his greatest ornament." "Heaven helps 
those who help themselves," is a good Anglo- 
Saxon view of every situation in life, while 
Tennyson sings : 

"The heights by great men reached and kept 
Were not attained by sudden flight ; 
But they, while their companions slept. 
Were toiling upward in the night." 

When Robert Stevenson wrote in "The 
Ebb-Tide," "Seaport towns are full of main- 
sheet men," he expressed a truth now exist- 
ing in the church. Too many want the very 
best without being willing to secure it by 
earnest endeavor. Their religion is selfish. 

259 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

They are like Charles Sumner, who, being 
invited by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe to come 
to her home to meet a distinguished friend, 
declined, saying, "I have got to that period 
where I have lost all interest in individuals.'^ 
"Why, Charles,'' said Mrs. Howe, "God has 
not gotten so far as that." No, nor never 
will. But many of his professed followers 
have. Sad the thought, that the greatest, 
loftiest, safest, and surest work in the re- 
demption of others is sadly neglected. If 
one-half the zeal and argument used in po- 
litical, business, and social life, could be 
transferred into the work of soul-saving, 
many lives would be like Enoch's, and many 
families like Joshua's. 

Some years ago a picture appeared in a 
religious paper of a life-boat full of mari- 
ners on a rough and glaring sea, around 
which were many drowning sinners. In the 
bow of the boat sat General William Booth, 
of the Salvation Army, reaching out and 
taking the hand of a struggling unfortunate 
to pull him into the boat. The grandson of 
this heroic man picked up the paper, studied 



260 



PERSONAL WORK 

the picture a moment, and then exclaimed : 
"Is grandpa trying to get that fellow into 
the boat, or is he just shaking hands with 
him?" Significant question! Too much of 

"Rescue the perishing. 
Care for the dying," 

is short-meter poetry, which needs to be 
transposed into long-meter activity. There 
is such a thing as being what Sir Walter 
Raleigh calls ^'lavish in words and niggard 
in deed.'' It is related of the late evangelist^ 
D. L. Moody, that a man rose in one of his 
meetings and gave his experience. "I have 
been for five years on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration." "How many souls have you led 
to Christ?" was the sharp question that 
came from Mr. Moody in an instant. "Well, 
I don't know," was the astonished reply. 
"Have you led any?" persisted Mr. Moody. 
"I don't know that I have," answered the 
man. "Well," said Mr. Moody, "we don't 
want that kind of mountain-top experience. 
When a man gets so high that he can't reach 
down and save poor sinners, there is some- 
thing wrong/' This experience could not 

261 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

be if we learned the first principles of our 
relationship to each other. As we cannot 
have a chicken without an egg, so we cannot 
have a redeemed society without redeeming 
individuals. "True grace," as Matthew 
Henry says, "hates monopolies, and loves 
not to eat its morsels alone." This is true 
in the character of the Christian's Christ, 
and the characters of some notable followers 
of that Christ. 

^^He first findeth Ms own brother, . . . 
Philip findeth Nathanael/^^ 

The fact is worthy of note that Christ's 
first disciples were secured through personal 
work. It was Andrew who found Peter; 
Philip, Nathanael ; Paul, Timothy ; and thus 
the historic nexus is maintained, as career 
chains on to career. More of such work, and 
conversions would be counted by hundreds 
rather than tens, and quiet, successful, and 
continuous revivals would be the result. 
The reign of heaven would be everywhere, 
and the glorious millennium soon begin. 

Personal work is the demand of the hour. 
Too many are like the Italian coast guard 

»I. John 1:41, 45. 

262 



PEKSONAL WORK 

^'ho reported to the government of a wreck : 
"We attempted to give every assistance pos- 
sible through the speaking trumpet; not- 
withstanding which, next morning twenty 
corpses were washed ashore." Words need 
backing with actions. Dr. Roswell Hitch- 
cock said, "Every Christian must be a wit- 
ness, every recruit must himself be a re- 
cruiter." During the Civil War a raw 
soldier was sent down to the front from 
Vermont. Reaching his regiment, he found 
it on the eve of battle, preparing to charge 
a battery. When the order came, he rushed 
with the rest toward the enemy's lines, but 
when the retreat was ordered, he did not 
understand the signal, but kept on till he 
seized a gunner by the collar and started 
back toward the Union lines, dragging him 
along swiftly with all his unwasted 
strength. "Boys," cried he, as he neared his 
comrades, "there's plenty of them! Why 
didn't you each get one?" So, Christian, 
there 's plenty of sinners who may be cap- 
tured for Jesus, if you only try. 

Personal work! As hand-picked fruit is 



263 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

the best, so personal effort surpasses much 
of public preaching and teaching. John 
Wesley is said to have won sixty thousand 
souls by personal effort. Dr. Henry Clay 
Trumbull, who was won to Christ by a letter 
from a railway clerk, said, "The seeking of a 
single individual by a single individual has 
been God's chosen way of evangelizing from 
the beginning of the Christian ages, even to 
the present day." Of his own experience, 
he remarked: "If on one side he puts his 
ministry as editor of the Sunday School 
TimeSj and on the same side his preaching 
as a minister, and on the other side, the 
balance of his work done for individuals, 
the individual work will outweigh in im- 
portance every other work of his life.'' Per- 
sonal work was the secret of success in the 
life of Harlan Page. He looked upon others 
as a responsibility resting upon himself. He 
made it a rule never to be with anybody for 
fifteen minutes without trying to do him 
good. The same was true of John Scudder. 
Each person with whom he became ac- 
quainted was marked as an object of inter- 



264 



PERSONAL WORK 

est. He would not approach abruptly, or 
impolitely, but tenderly and carefully gave 
counsel. When he entered a family, every 
member of it shared his Christian thought- 
fulness. He overlooked none, and had a 
word for all, remembering each in prayer. 
The same was true of John Vassar. With 
religious literature in his hand and a pas- 
sion for souls in his heart, "he went about 
doing good."^ Of his efforts. Rev. A. C. 
Dixon says: "Soul-winning was his busi- 
ness All other things, however important, 
were incidental. He seemed to love people 
with the very heart of Christ. To him every 
soul was so infinitely valuable that he could 
see little difference in people. In Boston he 
called upon a worldly woman and talked 
with her about the salvation of her soul, 
and prayed with her. When the husband re- 
turned in the evening, the wife said : "There 
was a queer old man here to-day, who talked 
to me about my soul, and before he left, he 
kneeled down and prayed for you and me.^^ 
*'If I had been here," replied the husband, 
"I should have told him to go about his 

*ActalO:38. 

265 



KEVIVAL THEEMOMETER 

business." "If you had been here, my dear," 
quietly answered his wife, "you would have 
thought that he was about his business." 

Personal work, fellow-Christian, is your 
work, your business. "Wist ye not that I 
must be about my Father's business?"^ 
asked that holy, indefatigable soul-winner. 
Indeed, Jesus teaches us that one soul is a 
great audience. In fact, Christianity began 
"with one. On nineteen different occasions 
Christ sat down and taught one scholar. He 
ran from cities, evaded mobs, but was will- 
ing to lag behind to talk to one Samaritan 
woman. Luke's Acts of the Apostle's is 
chiefly the narrative of labors by and for 
individuals. In personal work, "it takes 
more grace to talk to one man than to a 
thousand," and it is certainly more effective. 
People are not saved en masse, but individ- 
ually. "Work," said Henry Drummond, 
^^with units, but above all, work at units." 

Now, Jesus, according to St. Paul, left 
^'us an example."^ that we "should follow 
his steps," "to seek and to save that which 
was lost."^ Caste or nationality should not 

«Luke2:49. «I. Peter 2: 21. »Lukel9:10. 
266 



PERSONAL WORK 

interfere, for it was a Samaritan woman 
w^ho declared after one conversation with 
Jesus, "Is not this the Christ?"^ Bad char- 
acters should not deter, for Jesus made a 
saint out of the devil-invested Magdalene. 
Time should not be considered, for it was 
night when Jesus imparted light to the dark- 
ened soul of Nicodemus. Nothing should 
hinder us in this most important work con- 
signed to our care, but anywhere and to any 
one we should hasten and exhort : 

"Sinners, believe the Savior's word; 
Trust in His mighty name, and live." 

For, in the words of Addison, "The stars 
shall fade, the sun grow dim, and nature 
sink in years, but the soul in immortal youth 
shall live on, unhurt amidst the war of ele- 
ments, the wreck of matter and the crush 
of worlds.'^ The soul live on? Ah, that is 
not all. It shall represent in heaven or hell 
the personal influence and interest that 
helped that soul to its destiny. Then, 

"Christian, turn; thy soul apply 
To truths which hourly tell, 
That they who underneath thee lie 
Shall live in heaven or hell." 

•John 4: 29. 

267 



EEVIYAL THERMOMETER 

Zeal That Searcheth. 

To engage in personal work one needs a 
holy zeal to be successful. He will search 
and will not rest content until he findeth. 
What a word is "findeth." What things are 
wrapped in it! It meant nights of toil 
crowned with success to Herschel the as- 
tronomer; perils of the sea crowned with 
success to Columbus; hardships and suffer- 
ings crowned with success to Stanley in his 
search for Livingstone; hunger and sick- 
ness, persecution and affliction crowned 
with success to Judson in planting the 
standard of the cross in Burmah; it meant 
a broken heart healed and sleepless nights 
and cheerless days crowned with success to 
that mother who sought her wayward 
daughter ; and it still means a lost soul won 
to Christ. 

"Findeth !" Three times in five verses of 
the first chapter of John's Gospel we find 
this expression. Jesus "findeth Philip.''^ 
Andrew "findeth his own brother Simon."- 
"Philip findeth Nathanael."^ The word 
sometimes insinuates on one hand some- 

»Johnl:43. 'John 1:41. 'John 1:45. 
268 



PERSONAL WORK 

thing or some one strayed or lost, and on 
the other some one searching. Garibaldi 
was once marching through a mountainous 
part of Italy with a few of his followers. 
Not far from their camp they were met by 
a poor shepherd, who seemed to be in great 
distress. The general inquired if anything 
had gone amiss, and was informed that he 
had lost a sheep, for which he had been 
searching, and it was a great loss to him 
for he was very poor. Garibaldi was 
affected, and commanded his men to help 
the farmer find the stray creature. Over 
hills and through valleys they diligently 
sought without success. At a late hour of 
the night Garibaldi arose and went in search 
of the missing sheep. Not making his ap- 
pearance at the customary hour in the 
morning, the soldiers peeped into his tent 
and there saw their leader asleep, with the 
innocent creature lying at his feet, covered 
with the generaPs military cloak. If Italy's 
emancipator was so zealous in aiding a poor 
peasant, and was ready to sacrifice rest and 
comfort to save a sheep, how much more 



269 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

should we "seek diligently,"^ till some lost 
soul is rescued from sin and death? 

The word "findeth" sometimes insinuates 
a "hide-and-seek'' game. There are those 
who lose themselves intentionally. They 
have no interest in religion and would thank 
you to let them alone. If they surmise a 
call or a conversation on the subject of relig- 
ion, they will elude your presence. What 
shall be done? Let them alone? No, not if 
the Holy Spirit has burdened your heart for 
that one's conversion. Plan, seek, corner, 
and deliver the message, and God will do the 
rest. "Uncle John" Vassar was once dining 
at a farmer's, when he noticed that the son, 
for whom he had been praying, was absent. 
He suspected the cause, and, believing it was 
a sign of the Holy Spirit, he rose from the 
table and sought him. His efforts for a time 
were adverse. He called, but received no 
answer. Going into the barn, he happened 
to look into a large hogshead, and there saw 
the youth, who disliked a conversation on 
religion. "Uncle John" leaped into his re- 
treat, told him of the love of Jesus, prayed 

« Luke 15:8. 

270 



PERSONAL WORK 

with him, and ere he left that youth was re- 
joicing in Christ. 

This word "findeth" insinuates persistent 
effort rewarded with success. Thorwaldsen, 
the great Danish sculptor, was one day- 
found almost in a trance of creative energy. 
Being asked what had happened, he said: 
^'My friend, my dear friend, I have an idea. 
I have a work in my head which will be wor- 
thy to live. A lad has been sitting for me 
some time as a model. Yesterday, when I 
bade him rest a while, he threw himself into 
an attitude which struck me very much. 
AYhat a beautiful statue it would make! I 
said to myself. But what would it do for? 
It would do — it w^ould do — it would do ex- 
actly for Mercury drawing his sword just 
after he has played Argus to sleep. I imme- 
diately began modeling. I worked all the 
evening, until at my usual hour I went to 
bed. But my idea would not let me rest. I 
was forced to rise again. I struck a light, 
and worked at my model for three or four 
hours, after which I returned to bed. But 
I could not rest; again I was forced to 



271 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

get up, and have been working ever since. 
Oh, mj friend, if I can but execute my idea, 
it will be a glorious statue." Such interest, 
such effort, such inspiration to mold a lump 
of clay that should endure after the artist's 
spirit had passed away ! Would that Chris- 
tians were imbued with such a desire to seek 
and bring unpolished souls to that Great 
Artist, who can make them "after the im- 
age of him that created"^ them. And this 
they would if, like Drummond, who believed 
^^in the recoverableness of a man at his 
worst," they had that sublime spirit of hal- 
lowed persistency which he had when, ac- 
cording to his diary, he went down every 
night of the week to the Grass Market to 
convey a man home past the public houses. 
Very significant is the phraseology con- 
nected with the word "findeth." Andrew 
first findeth "his own brother Simon . . . 
and brought him to Jesus."^ He began with 
his own kindred. "We ought," in the words 
of Dr. Wilbur Chapman, "to begin at the 
center and work out, then we influence the 
whole circle." When Andrew Fuller preach- 

»Col.3:10. 3Johnl:42,43. 

272 



PERSONAL WORK 

€d to his indifferent ch\irch at Kettering on 
the duty of the church to give the gospel to 
the world, they became so aroused as to ask, 
*^Is not this gospel that can save the world 
equal to the salvation of my son, my child?" 
It is to our condemnation if we cannot influ- 
ence the members of our immediate family. 
There is something wrong somewhere if pa- 
rents bring not their children to Christ, and 
partner fail to influence partner. 

A deep drain was being dug in East 
London near Victoria Park. Some of the 
shoring gave way, and tons of earth fell on 
several men at work. There was much ex- 
citement. A man stood on the brink, earnest- 
ly watching the men digging out the earth. 
Presently a woman came up, put her hand 
upon his shoulder, and exclaimed: "Bill, 
your brother is in there!" Oh, the sudden 
change ! He threw off his coat, sprang into 
the trench, and worked as if he had the 
strength of ten men. Christian mother, 
your child is dying. Christian wife, your 
husband is going to ruin. Christian father, 
jour boy is perishing. Don't look on 



978 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

through curiosity ; don't leave his salvation 
to some one else. God holds you responsi- 
ble; therefore seek, pray, and bring him to 
Jesus. 

Just as significant is the other "findeth/^ 
Philip found Nathanael and said unto him, 
"We have found him, of whom Moses in the 
law and the prophets did write, Jesus of 
Nazareth . . . come and see."^ Here's a 
search that proved successful, a recommen- 
dation and an invitation unsurpassed. 
There is no room for excuse on the part of 
the Christian. Where there 's a will to 
seek, there 's a way to find. Where there 's 
a blessing experienced, there 's a way to ex- 
press it, and the expression may be just 
what another craves. It is said that the 
late Doctor Adams, of New York, was once 
impressed to speak to a certain gentleman. 
He neglected doing so during the day, and 
between ten and eleven at night, having the 
same impression, went to his home, to be 
saluted with the words, "I have been hoping 
you would come all day." That night that 
gentleman was led to Christ. Dr. George 

ijohn 1:46. 

274 



PEKSONAL WORK 

Pentecost once ventured to speak to a very 
great man on religious matters, at the close 
of which he apologized for his impertinence. 
The answer was a warm grasp of the hand, 
with the advice, "Don't ever hesitate to 
speak to any man about his soul. I have 
been longing for twenty years to have some 
Christian speak to me. I believe there are 
thousands of men in this city who are in the 
same condition that I am, carrying an un- 
easy conscience and a great burden on their 
souls; not courageous enough to seek in- 
struction, yet willing enough to receive it." 

Result of Successful Personal Work. 

Beautiful and blessed the result and influ- 
ence of the personal work of Andrew and 
Philip. It was far-reaching. Andrew was 
only a poor, unlettered fisherman. No in- 
stance is on record when he preached a ser- 
mon, but he led to Christ a man who did all 
these things. Without an Andrew there 
would have been no Apostle Peter. Of Phil- 
ip, the same may be said. He, too, is little 
known. He was the fourth of the apostles 



275 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

who attached himself to Jesus, and the 
greatest thing recorded in his favor was that 
he found Nathanael, "an Israelite indeed, in 
whom is no guile."^ 

Onr interest in others may be unknown 
to the public, but they may rise to command 
the admiration of the world. For 

"Who works the best, his simplest duties heeds ; 
Who moves the world, first moves a single soul." 

Parmenides was once reading a philosoph- 
ical discourse before a public assembly at 
Athens, and, observing that with the excep- 
tion of Plato the whole company had turned 
their backs upon him and left, he never- 
theless continued to read on, saying that 
Plato alone was a sufficient audience for 
him. Commanding the attention of Plato, 
he had the attention of thousands. John, 
the aged and gentle apostle, meets Justin 
Martyr in his youth, walking on the sea- 
shore, meditating on the deep mysteries of 
being, and shows him Christ, the solution 
of all. He, in turn, presents Christ to mul- 
titudes. The peddler who placed in the 

> John 1:47. 

216 



PEKSONAL WORK 

liands of Richard Baxter a little book, which 
was the means of his conversion, is name- 
less, but the memory of "Saint's Rest,'' 
which led Philip Doddridge and, subse- 
quently, Wilberforce to Christ is revered the 
world over. The aged minister who placed 
his hand on a boy's head in a Scottish 
church and, between his sobs, said, "God 
bless you, my boy, you may be a mission- 
ary," is also nameless, but Robert Moffat is 
known in missionary annals. Thomas 
Scott, the commentator, calling at the house 
of young Carey's employer, became inter- 
ested in the "sensible-looking lad" with 
leather apron, and by this personal contact 
led him to see his need and to put his trust 
in Jesus. India speaks of the result. The 
lady who picked up a street Arab and led 
him to a Sunday school is unknown, but the 
name of Amos Sutton, one of the founders 
of the Telugu mission, is held in great ven- 
eration. Dr. Lyman Beecher once preached 
to a single individual in a little schoolhouse 
in Ohio. Years after he met his auditor, and 
was informed that the sermon that night led 



277 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

him to Christ and to the ministry. An un- 
known Christian student led a profligate 
Prussian youth to a prayer-meeting, and 
George Miiller, who "robbed the cruel 
streets of victims, the jails of felons, the 
workhouses of helpless waifs," will long be 
remembered as the man of prayer and faith. 
A kind word and a hearty handshake 
brought a white-haired, low-browed boy to 
Christ in Cadiz, Ohio. In after years that 
boy was the clear-brained, sweet-spirited, 
silver-tongued Bishop Simpson. A Presby- 
terian elder, sitting beside a little boy in the 
college chapel at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 
spoke of Christ's love to him. Who he was, 
I know not, but that boy was the conse- 
crated Alfred Cookman, who died shouting, 
"I 'm sweeping through the gates, washed in 
the blood of the Lamb.'' Joel Stratton was 
a humble and unnoticed man, but John B. 
Gough, whom he found, became the trumpet- 
voice of temperance. Robert Eaglen was a 
plain, uncultured "Primitive Methodist" 
preacher, but lo, he "findeth" Charles H. 
Spurgeon, and Spurgeon's words have gone 



278 



PERSONAL WORK 

to the ends of the earth. Edward Kimball, 
an obscure Sunday-school teacher in Bos- 
ton, influenced Dwight L. Moody to become 
a Christian, and the latter stands immortal 
as one of the greatest evangelists of the nine- 
teenth century. 

Thus the number might be multiplied. 
We never know the good we may accomplish 
by speaking a word for Christ. Ten minutes' 
conversation led Rev. F. B. Meyer into the 
path of service. We cannot tell what 
change may be wrought by a kind embrace 
or handshake. "It was not so much what 
he said," was the remark of a costermonger, 
when speaking of the interest taken in him 
by the Earl of Shaftesbury, "but he put his 
arm around me and said, ^ Jack, we '11 make 
a man of you yet.' " When Carey finished 
his celebrated missionary sermon, he took 
Andrew Fuller by the arm and asked, "And 
are you, after all, going to do nothing?" 
That is the great question I propound at 
this time. Knowing what you do, seeing 
what you see, are you, after all, going to do 
nothing? Answer this important question. 



279 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

But I hear some one say: "I would, if 
business were not so pressing.'^ What I 
William E. Gladstone, crowded with polit- 
ical cares, sought out and led two notorious, 
intemperate young men to Christ, one of 
\^'hom became a minister. Kingman Nott, 
according to his diary, "resolved to converse 
during the term with every unconverted stu- 
dent in college upon personal religion.'^ 
Harlan Page, pressed with work and bat- 
tling with ill-health, led over a hundred and 
fifty young men and women into the church. 
You can do the same. "I would,'^ another 
says, "if I had the gift of speech and 
prayer." Indeed! John Wesley started a 
movement on his knees, by gathering others 
of his class about him. You can do likewise. 
"I would," replied a third, "if my social 
standing would permit." Nonsense! The 
daughter of William E. Dodge had social 
prestige, but she consecrated that with her 
wealth and time to solve the problem of the 
New York poor; and what reason can you 
give for not consecrating time, means, and 
service to God? 



280 



PERSONAL WORK 

Andrew Murray relates that in South Af- 
rica there was an infidel blacksmith, with 
whom no one could deal. One day the min- 
ister sent the elder of the church, a clever 
and pious man, to see him. He argued, but 
could not convince him. But there was an 
old farmer, who had prayed many years for 
this infidel. Early one morning he took his 
horse and rode to see this man, who greeted 
him thus, "Well, what brings you here at 
this hour?'' The old farmer stammered 
badly, and when thus addressed could not 
utter a word. The infidel laughed. This 
made matters worse. At last the old man 
burst into tears, and stammered out, "I 'm 
so anxious about your soul," and hurried 
away. Those words, and the earnestness of 
the farmer, won the blacksmith to Christ. 
How true, in Richard Cecil's words, "the 
warm, blundering man" may do more than 
the "cold, correct man," and of a surety "he 
that goeth forth"^ with stammering tongue, 
timid heart, "and weeping, bearing precious 
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoic- 
ing, bringing his sheaves with him." 

»Ps. 126:6. 

281 



KEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

'Go, then, ever weeping, sowing for the Master, 
Tho' the loss sustained our spirit often grieTO»; 

When our weeping 's over, He will bid us welcome. 
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheave*." 



282 



JOY 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

Just as awe and sublimity are produced 
hj looking up or down some Mont Blanc, so 
are sorroAv and joy in a revival. The latter 
succeeds rather than precedes the former. 
Depression of soul, humiliation of spirit, 
agony of heart are the birthpangs of a re- 
vival, while the result is thanksgiving to 
God because of a reenlivening among Chris- 
tians and conversion among sinners. One 
must travail in soul before he can rejoice 
over the new-born. An experience of ^;torm 
produces appreciation of calm; hunger, 
food; poverty, riches; and prayer, praise. 
^'Weep" is the vernacular of earth ; "rejoice'' 
is the vernacular of heaven; the sorrow 
*'may endure for a night, but joy cometh in 
the morning.''^ 

When the proposition to lay an Atlantic 
cable was made in the fifties, men 

»Ps. 30.5. 

283 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

doubted its practicability. Eminent en- 
gineers declared it was beyond the resources 
of human skill to lay a line two thousand 
miles in length. Robert Stephenson shook 
his head and predicted failure. Cyrus W. 
Field thought it could be done, and it was 
done. But did you ever consider the expense 
of money and time, the snapping and losing 
of the cables, the disgust of some of the 
directors, whose faith not only wavered but 
broke, until on August 17, 1858, there 
flashed through the ocean the message, "Eu- 
rope and America are united by telegraph. 
^Glory to God in the highest ; on earth peace, 
and good-will toward men' ''? Then did the 
agony attending former failures, the smart- 
ing under criticism, the weariness produced 
by exertions, the awful tension of the pro- 
moters give way, and the people of England 
and America became frenzied with enthu- 
siasm. In monarch's hall and peasant's hut, 
among men of commerce and producers, 
there was unbounded joy. 

We have heard of the great Central Pa- 
cific Railway which spans the continent and 



284 



JOY 

unites the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 
When that road was finished a great cele- 
bration was held at the place where the lines 
connected. The last bolt to be driven was 
one of gold, to which was attached an elec- 
tric wire. At one end it was connected with 
a bell at the Capitol at Washington, and at 
the other end to a fire-bell in San Francisco. 
The stroke of the sledge-hammer that drove 
the nail caused the two bells to ring, and 
East and West were jubilant with gratula- 
tions. So, when a soul is born into the king- 
dom, thus connecting earth with heaven, 
and time with eternity, there is great joy. 

"For a soul is rescued from his sinful way. 
And is born anew, a ransomed child." 

^^ Likewise joy shall he in heaven . . . ;oy 
in the presence of the angels of God over one 
sinner that repenteth/^^ 

Joy. 

Joy is a delight of the mind. It makes 

one optimistic. It may or may not be holy, 

beneficial, eternal. The joy of Israel when 

dancing before the holy calf was sinful ; that 

>LQkel5:7,10. 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

of David before the ark, good. The joj of 
Julius II., when ill of a fever, because auxil- 
iary forces were coming to him from the 
King of Spain was so great that it entirelj 
cured him; but the joy of Pope Leo X., on 
hearing that Milan was taken, came so sud- 
denly that it was the cause of his death. 
^•The joy of the hypocrite is but for a mo- 
ment,"^ said Job, but for Christians "ever- 
lasting joy shall be upon their head."^ Of 
the latter, earth cannot give, nor can it 

"... Destroy 
The sovlVs calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy." 

Joy is so real a thing that it transforms 
feeling. It turns darkness into light, 
mourning into laughter, and converts a 
prison into a palace. "My servants,''^ said 
God, "shall sing for joy of heart.'' Ezra 
tells us that when the foundations of the 
temple were laid, some ^^wept . . . and 
many shouted for joy.''^ Jesus, speaking of 
the perilous days to come, exhorted, "Re- 
joice ye in that day, and leap for joy."" 

"One hour of joy dispels the cares 
And sufferings of a thousand years." 

Job 20: 6^ •Isa.51:n. >Isa.65:14. «Ezra8:12. -Luke 6: 26. 

286 



JOY 

Joy is of degrees. It is from God, for He 
"giveth to man . . . joy" ;^ and is one of the 
"fruits of the Spirit";^ but it can be only 
entertained and enlarged by haying "joy in 
the Holy Ghost/'^ which results only from 
consistent living and active service in the 
work of God. "Joy in God," says Maclar^n, 
"is the strength of work for God, but work 
for God is the preparation of joy in God." 
We read that "the meek shall increase their 
joy in the Lord."^ The disciples who wit- 
nessed the ascension of Christ "returned 
to Jerusalem with great joy."'^ The wise 
men, when they saw the star, "rejoiced 
with exceeding great joy."^ David declares 
in the presence of God "is fulness of joy.'"^ 
Peter writes of a "joy unspeakable and full 
of glory."^ And Jesus says, "These things 
have I spoken unto you, that my joy might 
remain in you, and that your joy might be 
full/^^ Victor Hugo never wrote lines 
which strike a truer note than when he said, 

»Eccl. 2:26. « Gal. 5:22. »Rom. 14:17. *Isa.29:19. "Luke 
34:52. -Matt 2:10. 'Ps.l6:ll. •I.Petl:8. •Johnl5:ll. 



287 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

"Be as a bird, 

A moment lighted on a twig that swings ; 
He feels it bend, but sings on unaffrighted. 
Knowing he hath wings." 

Angelic Joy. 
Joy is not confined to earth. Heaven 
knows all about it, and angels participate 
in it. According to the Hebrew word malak 
and the Greek aggelos, "angel" means "mes- 
senger" or "agent." In this sense it is used 
nearly three hundred times in the Scrip- 
tures. Nowhere is their history given, but 
from various passages we learn that they 
are numerous, intelligent, holy, happy, and 
deeply interested in the welfare of the hu- 
man race. They are beings of exalted char- 
acter and surpassing glory, and have min- 
istered in every age of the world to the 
devout of God. Three great annunciations 
of truth have they made. The first when 
Christ was born, an angePs voice rang out 
on the stillness of the night air : "Unto you 
is born this day in the city of David, a 
Savior, which is Christ the Lord."^ The sec- 
ond when Christ rose from the dead, "Pear 

»Luke2:ll. 



JOY 

not ye/'^ said one to the women at the sepul- 
cher, "for I know that ye seek Jesus, who 
was crucified. He is not here, for he is 
risen.'' The third, when Christ ascended, 
and His disciples were looking heavenward, 
"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up 
into heaven? This same Jesus, which is 
taken up from you into heaven shall so come 
in Wee manner as ye have seen him go into 
heaven/'^ 

Besides three great truths proclaimed, we 
find three things that produced great joy 
among them. The first, when the founda- 
tions of this world were laid, we read, "The 
sons of God shouted for joy."^ The second, 
at the nativity of Christ, "I bring you," 
said one to the shepherds, "good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to all people."^ 
"And suddenly there was with the angel a 
multitude of the heavenly host praising 
God"5 with the first "Gloria.'' And third, 

"There is joy among the angels, 

And their harps with music ring, 
When a sinner comes repenting, 
Bending low before the King.'' 

»Matt.28:5,6,15. «Actsl:ll. =»Job38:7. 4Luke2:10. ^Luke 
2:13. 

19 289 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

What ! A sinner. O reader, utter it ten- 
derly and prayerfully. A sinner ! You fre- 
quently lisp it, but did you ever consider it? 
Divide the word into two parts, sin-ner. 
Sin — that which goes back before mankind 
was created. Back to the time when Satan 
vied with jealousy the power of Jehovah and 
rebelled against His authority, ^m-ner — 
one who sins, a wilful violator of God's law, 
and with man that goes to Eden, when our 
parents disobeyed the mandate of Jehovah, 
"But of the fruit of the tree which is in the 
midst of the garden ye shall not eat of it, 
neither shall ye touch it.^'^ 

There is not a word in the English lan- 
guage which is a greater synonym of crime, 
rebellion, and sorrow. In it every evil may 
be included. A sinner literally is God's en- 
emy. He is the saddest sight that heavenly 
or earthly eyes ever beheld. Were he not, 
would God have loved him enough to give 
Jesus, and would Jesus have died to save 
him? Were he not, would his Christian fel- 
low-men sacrifice means and health to seek 
his salvation? Say, my reader, what is the 

»Gen. 3:3. 

290 



JOY 

saddest sight you ever saw? The writer has 
seen a bright young crippled lady, with arm 
bound to her side, which otherwise would 
revolve like a wheel — the result of a father's 
brutality. A wife bowed in grief over a sui- 
cide husband; a father and son, a mother 
and daughter in the same casket; a poor 
sailor with broken back, wrapped in a sail, 
tied to a board and weighed down with iron, 
buried at sea at the midnight hour, without 
a relative to shed a tear or a minister to 
offer a prayer. But sadder still is an indi- 
vidual made in the image of God, passing 
through life with that image marred by sin, 
— created by God, yet not of God. A resi- 
dent of earth, yet an outcast of heaven, 
choosing death rather than life, and the 
curse of God rather than the blessing of 
God. Tell me, is not a sinner truly a sad 
spectacle? 

The picture changes. A transformation 
takes place. Joy is mingled with sorrow. 
The sinner is here described as repenting. 
This is cause for congratulation. If joy is 
produced by a convalescent, how much more 



291 



REVIVAL THERMOMETEE 

when a sinner seeks to become a saint? If 
there is much included in the word ^'sinner," 
so is there much in the word "repenting." 
Our English, Latin, Greek, or Hebrew lan- 
guage gives us only a partial meaning of the 
word, but unite these, and we see the signif- 
icance and blessedness of it. In English, it 
is defined as "sorrow or regret for what has 
been done or left undone, by one's self ; such 
sorrow- for the past as leads to amendment 
of life. In the Latin it is pcenitentia, or 
"pain," a contrition so deep that it produces 
pain of the mind. In the Greek it is meta- 
noitty or "change of mind," as the prodigal 
had "when he came to himself."^ In the 
Hebrew it is teshshuhhay or "a returning," 
like this same prodigal who "arose and came 
to his father,"^ and like those of whom Peter 
wrote, "Ye were as sheep going astray, but 
are now returned unto the Shepherd and 
Bishop of your souls."^ One readily sees 
that such repentance is not that superficial, 
half-hearted kind so often exhibited, but 
that which produces suffering of the mind 
for wrong committed, a change of that mind 

»IiUke 15: 17. ^Luke 15: 20. ^1. Pet. 2: 25. 
292 



JOY 

to do right, a turning unto man to repair 
the wrong done, to make restitution, to "cut 
off the entail of sin," and a turning unto 
God for forgiveness and salvation. Such 
repentance is genuine, and makes the angels 
rejoice. 

The sinner is denominated as one, God 
saves by ones. Just as Esau asked his father 
if he had "but one blessing,"^ so there is but 
"one offering,''^ "one fold, and one Shep- 
herd,"^ "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 
one God and Father of all,"^ and this only 
to the one that repents, "even as ye are 
called into one hope of your calling."^ 

One ! But how important and useful that 
one may be. One Moffat, but through him 
a continent opened for Christ. One How- 
ard, but prisons renovated and prisoners re- 
lieved. One Miieller, and orphans gathered 
from the streets. One Gough, and hosts won 
from the cup. One Moody, and thousands 
brought to Christ. One child, but that one 
is a soul saved, plus a life, not simply a unit 
but a multiplication table. Some 

>Gen.27:38. »Heb.lO:14. 'John 10: 16. *Eph.4:6,6. »Eph. 

41 4» 

293 



EEVIVAL THERMOMETER 

** . . . Believe in figures. I do not. 
Where do all large ideas, all great aims, 
All schemes that uplift humanity, hare birth ? 
In the majority? Ah, no, my friend, 
In the minute minority of one. 
In God, heaven, man, one is best." 

Place of Joy. 

Joy, like flowers that bloom, may be trans- 
itory; but the effects, like the perfume, re- 
main to sweeten one's whole existence. 
Everything earthly is changeable; only 
things heavenly are eternal. Jesus, speak- 
ing of a repenting sinner, designates the 
place and characters where joy predomi- 
nates and endures. "Joy shall be in heav- 
en," and "joy in the presence of the angels 
of God." How beautiful these expressions ! 
Though distinguishing certain beings and 
a certain locality, how much more is in- 
cluded ! 

There must be, of necessity, joy in the 
sinner's heart. Nothing is more natural. 
What calm is after storm, health after sick- 
ness, wealth after poverty, so is transfor- 
mation of feeling, desires, and intentionei 
from wrong to right, and evil to good. 



294 



JOY 

Joy! No one has greater cause than he. 
Like Sir James Simpson, the well-known 
discoverer of chloroform, who, when ques- 
tioned as to the greatest discovery he ever 
made, replied, "That I have a Savior." 

Joy! Being delivered from condemna- 
tion and "made free from sin, and become a 
servant to God, having his fruit unto holi- 
ness, and the end everlasting life,"^ he can 
praise Christ as did the man whom Wash- 
ington delivered from death: "God bless 
him. Every drop of my blood says, God 
bless him." 

Joy! Like the rescued reckless, slave- 
hunting Newton, who preached on Sundays 
to rich bankers and titled ladies in London, 
and on week-day evenings would sit on a 
stool in his blue sailor jacket and talk to 
the poorest and most wicked who came to 
visit him, he can say, in substance, "I was 
a wild beast on the coast of Africa once, but 
the Lord Jesus caught and tamed me." 

Joy! Mithridates, king of Asia, became 
deeply interested in an aged musician who 
performed for him. One morning, on aris- 

» Rom. 6:22. 

295 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

ing, the old man was greeted with tables 
richly laden with vessels of gold and serv- 
ants holding rich garments. At the door 
was a magnificent steed. He was informed, 
as was the sinner, all things "are yours."^ 
He was dumbfounded. But learning that a 
rich inheritance had been bestowed upon 
him by a wealthy man, he accepted the robe, 
mounted the horse, and, riding through the 
city, cried, "All these are mine! All these 
are mine !" 

Can there be less joy in a converted sin- 
ner's heart if he takes Christ at His word? 
Nay, for he answers, "Thy word is unto me 
a joy and the rejoicing of mine heart."^ 
Why? Because "all things" are his, 
"whether of the world, or life, or death, or 
things present, or things to come."^ He is 
"an heir of God through Christ,"^ "accord- 
ing to the hope of eternal life,"*^ "of the 
kingdom which Christ hath promised to 
them that love him."^ What relationship! 
Moses adopted into Pharaoh's royal family 
never had such honor. What exalted posi- 

VL Cor. 3: 21 'JenlSrie. 'I. Cor. 3: 21, 22. *Gal.4:7. •Titus 
3:7. «Jarae8 2:5. 

296 



JOY 

tion! David raised from a shepherd to be 
king never enjoyed such distinction. What 
wealth! King Edward, sovereign over a 
continent, a hundred peninsulas, five hun- 
dred promontories, a hundred lakes, two 
thousand rivers, and ten thousand isles, 
never had such riches as awaits the hum- 
blest saint in the kingdom of Christ. It is 
enough, therefore, to make the sinner trans- 
formed into a child of God rejoice, for 
things promised dissolve into a conscious- 
ness of things realized, which makes him 
sing, 

'*How sweet the joy that fills my soul ! 

Christ is my Kedeemer; 
His precious blood has made me whole, 

Christ is my Kedeemer ; 
My sins were all upon Him laid, 
A full atonement He hath made. 
For me He hath the ransom paid; 

Christ is my Redeemer." 

There must be joy in the worker's heart, 
Paul calls his converts the "crown of rejoic- 
ing."^ I doubt not but Stanley experienced 
almost as much joy in the discovery of Liv- 
ingstone as Livingstone did in being discov- 
ered. What sorrow for Robert and Mary 

»I. Thess. 2:19. 

297 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

Moffat, who toiled in Africa for ten years 
without a convert, but how quickly the sor- 
row faded when the natives began to give 
themselves to God! If the one brought to 
Christ is made happy, surely there is happi- 
ness for the one who brought him. 

In May, 1864, while a storm was sweep- 
ing over Lake Michigan, a vessel was seen a 
few miles from Chicago, in great distress. 
It was rapidly drifting toward the sand- 
bars a little south of the bluff on which the 
Northwestern University is situated. In a 
short time a crowd of students and towns- 
people of Evanston had gathered upon the 
shore, watching the dismantled vessel as it 
strained upon the sand-bar. Five half- 
frozen men were seen clinging to the wreck, 
over which every wave dashed with fury. 
What could be done? There were no life- 
boats, and a skiff would be wrecked in a 
moment. Among those who witnessed the 
mute appeal of the sailors was a student, 
now known as Bishop Hartzell. Some years 
before he had found his way to Evanston 
from the farm and home where he had lived 



208 



JOY 

and worked until he was seventeen jears of 
age. By dint of strenuous effort he had 
worked his way through the university, and 
was now a student in the theological sem- 
inary. Young Hartzell was physically 
strong and vigorous, and swimming was one 
of his favorite diversions. Going up the 
shore a couple of hundred yards he took off 
his heavier garments, and tied the end of a 
stout cord about his waist. The crowd 
watched with breathless interest as the 
young student met the first onset of the 
breakers. The undertow was so strong that 
in a moment the heavy woolen socks were 
torn from his feet. But his long practice 
stood him in good stead. Diving and spring- 
ing as best he could through the breakers, 
he made progress, and finally reached the 
mast, which had fallen toward the shore. 
Clinging to this with feet and hands, he 
managed to slip along until he caught the 
foundering vessel. The captain, as he 
reached out his hand to the heroic student, 
could only say, "God bless you ! You 're a 
man ?^ A rope was fastened to the mast and 



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REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

arrangements made to transfer the half- 
frozen sailors to the shore. "You go first," 
said the captain to young Hartzell. "No," 
was the reply. "I shall be the very last." 
Helping the men one by one, he did not leave 
the deck till he had seen them all safe on 
shore. Think ye not there was joy in his 
heart when he beheld those w^hom he had 
saved rejoicing? How true, "He that goeth 
forth and weepeth," said David, "bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless come again 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."^ 

"Go, then, ever weeping, sowing for the Master, 
Tho' the loss sustained our spirits often grieves; 
When our weeping 's over, He will bid us welcome ; 
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves." 

There must be joy in the hearts of Ghns- 
tian loved ones, A family divided is cause 
for deep regret. How sad the household in 
which social and business interests are one, 
and the religious are divided! Yet how 
prevalent this condition. No tie is stronger 
than the family, yet as no chain is stronger 
than its weakest part, no family is secure 
till every member is a Christian. Alas, the 

»Ps. 126:6. 

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JOY 

Christless homes in Christian America ! Few 
guest-chambers for the Master, few family 
altars, few fathers praying and pleading for 
and with their children, few families attend- 
ing church in a body. Is it not a sad com- 
mentary on the conditions of the times? 
What is needed and what we must have is 
an activity and permanence of Christian 
environment as well as a profession of a 
Christian life. The parents are responsible 
for the religious atmosphere of the home, 
and when children develop into wild and 
wicked persons, nine times out of ten it is 
because of the loose, non-Christian life and 
training of the parent. Oh, for the day 
when parents will make the declaration of 
Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will 
serve the Lord."^ Such 

"... Parents may in covenant be 
And have their heaven in view ; 
They are not happy till they see 
Their children happy, too." 

Oh, the joy that comes to the Christian 
members of the family by conversion of one 
of their members. "My brother and I 

» Josh. 24:15. 

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REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

toiled," said a hard-working man to the 

writer, "to give W a start in life. He is 

now governor of the State." How much 
the joy of that wife who, with tears, ex- 
claimed, "I prayed for forty years for my 
husband, and he was converted last night." 
Or, as I have witnessed, parents happy be- 
yond measure because a son or daughter had 
been born into the kingdom. 

When that noble woman, the wife of Wil- 
liam Booth, died, people of all classes paid 
a last tribute as she lay in state. Queen 
Victoria sent a representative. Lords and 
ladies, rich and poor, congregated to bless 
her memory. In the long line came a wom- 
an carrying a child in one arm and leading 
an older one by the hand. When she reached 
the casket she put the baby on the floor, 
loosed the clasp of the child's hand, and 
then stooped to kiss the glass which covered 
the face. By this she stopped the passing 
of the throng. The guard, stepping for- 
ward, took her by the shoulder and said, 
"You must move on; you are stopping the 
people." Looking at him a moment, she 



302 



JOY 

turned toward the surging crowd and cried, 
"My friends, I will not move on! I have 
walked sixty miles and carried my baby, 
that I might look upon this woman's face. 
She saved my boys from hell, and I have a 
right to look and weep.'' Then bending 
down, she kissed again and again the glass 
covering the face, while the people sobbed in 
sympathy with her. What prompted her 
thus? Means, position, notoriety? No. It 
was the reformation of her boys. Mrs. 
Booth was the instrument under God, but 
who can estimate the happiness of that 
mother's heart? Sixty miles could not 
measure it, nor scales weigh it, nor philos- 
ophers bound it. It was joy like unto the 
angels. 

There is joy among the angels in heaven. 
How great the influence of man and earth 
on angels and heaven. Did you ever think 
of it? Evil influences affect hell, good in- 
fluences, heaven. Wicked persons delight 
devils, good persons, angels. "Joy in the 
presence of the angels!" Among them, as 
well as in their presence. According to this, 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

they are subject to feeling. It may be they 
conceive the eternal misery a saved soul 
escapes, the good he may do, or the exalta- 
tion that comes through the exemplification 
of the mercy of Christ. For 

"Joy never feasts so high 
As when the first course is of mercy." 

Beautiful is the thought that angels are 
deeply interested in the salvation of the lost, 
therefore they must be interested in revi- 
vals, for the greater number brought to 
Christ are through these special means of 
grace. This is manifest by what the apostle 
declares, ^^Of which salvation the prophets 
have inquired and searched diligently . . . 
which things the angels desire to look into.'^^ 
Is it any wonder, then, that they rejoice 
when a sinner becomes a saint, a child of 
Satan a child of God? 

Not only angels, but Jesus says, "There is 
joy in heaven." That includes all who live 
there. Much is said in the Bible about 
heaven, but more how to get there. Few are 
the words more charming than this. As a 
condition or place, it includes more than 

II. Pet. 1:10-12. 

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JOY 

any other. It is the unsurpassed cathedral 
to Wren, the beauty of perfectness to An- 
gelo, the loftiest realms of music to Handel, 
love to Wilberforce, rest to Hall, peace to 
Gordon, but ^OIt Father's house" to Jesus. 
What is heaven? I answer. It is Christ. 
The "Light'' to Milton, the "Sound" to 
Beethoven, the "Only Rock" to Agassiz, the 
"Emancipator" to Lincoln. Christ the Son, 
the Man, the God, the God-man, the man- 
God. 

O my brethren, it is ours to gage angelic 
happiness. There are few means more ef- 
fective in commending the religion of Christ 
to others, and by winning such to Christ to 
make angels rejoice and heaven be glad, 
than revivals. Should we not go forth with 
smiling face, cheerful words, warm hand- 
grasps to win souls to Christ, that in return 
at the coronation of the King we, too, may 
be filled with fullness of joy? 

"Perchance in heaven one day to me 
Some blessed saint will come and say, 

'All hail! beloved, but for thee 

My soul to death bad fallen a prey' ; 

And, oh, what rapture in the thought ! 
One soul to glory to have brought." 

20 305 



EEYIVAL THERMOMETER 

In the year Queen Victoria was crowned 
there was held a series of festivities, closing 
with the performance of HandePs "Mes- 
siah." It was customary for the auditors 
to rise when a certain part of this oratorio 
was sung. The queen desiring to hear it, 
was instructed that for her to rise would be 
a great violation of court etiquette, as it was 
the prerogative of royalty to remain seated 
when the multitude stood. So, when the 
chorus began, and the whole multitude rose, 
the queen, desirous to testify for Christ, 
yearned to stand, but remembering her in- 
structions, retained her seat. As the singers 
went on, 

"Hallelujali! Hallelujali! Hallelujah! 
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.'' 

The queen almost had to take hold of the 
sides of her chair to keep from standing up ; 
but when they reached the magnificent pass- 
age, 

"King of kings 
And Lord of lords," 

the queen forgot lier court instructions and 
the manners of royalty. Meekly rising to 
her feet, she folded her arms over her breast, 

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JOY 

and bowed her crowned head, as we will do 

in the presence of our Lord, when the whole 

ransomed host will join with angels in the 

song, 

"All hail the power of Jesus' name> 
Let angels prostrate fall; 
Bring forth the royal diadem. 
And crown Him Lord of all.'' 



Not what more can, but what more shall 
be said? Like Sir Isaac Newton, the writer 
is compelled to confess that this "great 
ocean of truth lies all undiscovered before 
me." Yet enough has been written, which, 
if strictly cherished, will produce a reviving 
in the reader's life and in the life of the 
churches which are willing to adhere to the 
principles herein advocated. 

Have we not read of the masterly plan of 
Napoleon to defeat the Austrian army at 
Marengo? Kain having fallen, the river Po, 
fed by the streams from the gorges of the 
!Alps, could not be crossed in time, and Na- 
307 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

poleon reached the field to see his brave sol- 
diers in retreat. Just as the day was lost, 
Desaix, the boy general, came sweeping 
across the field at the head of his cavalry 
and halted near Napoleon. In the corps was 
a drummer boy, whom Desaix had picked up 
on the streets of Paris. As the column 
halted, Napoleon, noticing him, cried, "Beat 
a retreat !" The lad moved not. "Boy, beat 
a retreat!'' cried the commander with em- 
phasis. The boy stepped forward, grasped 
his drum-sticks, saluted the general, and 
said, "Sire, I don't know how. Desaix never 
taught me that; but I can beat a charge. 
Yes, sir, I can beat a charge that would 
make the dead fall into line. I beat that 
charge at the Pyramids once, I beat it at 
Mt. Tabor, I beat it at the bridge of Lodi; 
shall I beat it here?" The answer, the cour- 
age, the fact that defeat might be turned to 
victory aroused the Corsican, and he cried, 
"The old charge of Lodi and the Pyramids ! 
Yes, beat it." A moment later, and the 
corps followed Desaix, and keeping step to 
the furious roll of the boy's drum, they 



308 



JOY 

swept down on the hosts of Austria. It was 
as grand as awful. The dead piled up, but 
victory perched on the banner of Napoleon. 
When the smoke cleared away, it is recorded 
that the boy was seen still marching on, 
beating his furious charge. 

O believer in Christ, it seems the time was, 
when the church fought more valiantly than 
now. When it could boast of crossing the 
threshold of monarchs, when it sat down 
and confronted philosophers and skeptics 
who deigned to repudiate the most vital 
truths ; when brethren "had all things com- 
mon,"^ and the glory of God was man's first 
concern. Whether this be so or not, cast 
your eyes over the field to-day. The Church, 
the Truth, the Faith is being assailed. 

"The mighty host is advancing, 
Satan leading on; 
Mighty men around ns falling, 
Courage almost gone" ; 

hence the mission of this book is to sound 
the cry, "Beat the charge!" — the charge of 
the cross, the charge of the Christian's com- 
mission, the charge of the primitive fathers 

> Acts 2: 44. 



REVIVAL THERMOMETER 

against sin and Satan : ^'Fight the good 
fight of faith/'^ until ^'the kingdoms of this 
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, 
and of his Ghrist."^ 

Grant that a revival interest has been 
aroused, men and churches getting nearer 
God and souls are being saved, the question 
arises, Is not there much yet to be done? 
The birth of a child is a great event, but is 
not the training of that child greater? The 
permanency of a revival is in having those 
^'born of the Spirit"^ unite with the church. 
They must then be properly instructed, and 
urged to give their experience, like David, 
"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I 
will declare what he hath done for my 
soul."^ After this they must be sent forth 
to do their share of the work, so that in the 
shades of eventide of life, Jesus may say, 
when He makes up His jewels, 

"Burdened gleaners, thy sheaves I see ; 
Indeed, thou must a-weary be ; 
Singing along the homeward way. 
Glad one, where hast thou gleaned to-day?" 

Ah, fellow-worker, it will not be hard to 

» »I. Tim. 6:12. 2 Rev. 11:15. 'John3:5. ^Ps. 66:16. 
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JOY 

tell, or difficult to show one's success. The 
sheaves will speak for themselves. What a 
harvest-home! What shouts of triumph 
then! What hallelujahs! What greetings 
and thanksgivings ! As one desirous of the 
salvation of others through your salvation, 
of the reviving of others through your reviv- 
ing, I pray that you may live near Jesus, 
that the Holy Spirit may comfort, guide and 
bless, that you may be faithful and fruitful. 
May our Father 

"Bless us here, while still as strangers 
Onward to our home we move ; 
Bless us with eternal blessings 
In our Father's house above ; 

Ever, ever. 
Dwelling in the light of love.'' 



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